Purpose: Vitamin B(12) deficiency is a worldwide problem. It affects all ages, including children. It is one of the most common nutritional disorders and can cause harmful effects on the nervous system. In this study, we compared the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) in a healthy control group with children with vitamin B(12) deficiency. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin B(12) deficiency on the RNFLT in children with the optical coherence tomography (OCT) method.
Methods: Sixty-six children with a diagnosis of vitamin B(12) deficiency (patient group) and 66 age- and sex-matched healthy children (control group) were enrolled in this prospectively designed study. Blood counts, vitamin B(12) levels, folate levels, and full biochemical parameters were obtained for all the subjects in each group. Peripapillary RNFLT measurements were performed with Cirrus HD spectral domain OCT.
Results: The thickness of the superior retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in the vitamin B(12) deficiency group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p = 0.037). Although the average thickness of the RNFL was lower in the patient group, there was no statistically significant differences (p = 0.216). In the vitamin B(12) deficiency group, the average RNFL thickness and the superior RNFL thickness were significantly correlated with vitamin B(12) levels ((r1) = 0.353, (p1) < 0.004 and (r2) = 0.416, (p2) = 0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: Our study showed that a deficiency in vitamin B(12), elsewhere it is important for the development of the central nervous system, is associated with a reduction in the thickness of the superior RNFL.