Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency in early life can adversely affect the growth of developing brain with myriad of neurodevelopmental manifestations. At this age, the deficiency is usually the result of low maternal levels.
Objectives: To assess the vitamin B12 status of healthy exclusively breast-fed Indian infants aged 1 to 6 months and their mothers.
Methods: One hundred term exclusively breast-fed infants aged 1 to 6 months attending pediatric outpatient department were recruited. Hemogram, serum B12, folate, and ferritin levels were obtained from each infant-mother pair.
Results: The prevalence of B12 deficiency in infants was found to be 57%. Forty-six percent of mothers were deficient. There was a positive correlation ( r = .23) between the B12 levels of the infants and their mothers.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in Indian infants and their mothers. There is an urgent need to supplement our population with vitamin B12, and the best time to do this would be antenatal.
Keywords: anemia; methylation; pancytopenia; vegetarians.