title: Vitamin B-12 status in a macrobiotic community.
abstract: Vitamin B-12 status was assessed in a group of 110 adults and 42 children from a macrobiotic community in New England. Dietary and anthropometric information also was obtained. Fifty-one percent of the adults had low concentrations of serum vitamin B-12, which inversely correlated with duration of macrobiotic diet practice. Urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA) excretion was inversely correlated with serum vitamin B-12, and 30% of adults sampled had high urinary MMA. Fifty-five percent of children had high urinary MMA, and MMA was higher in the group that consumed a macrobiotic diet during their entire lifetime. Children were relatively short in stature and weight, and decreased stature was associated with high urinary MMA. In both adults and children vitamin B-12 status was better with more consumption of dairy products or with higher tertile of reported frequencies of vitamin B-12 consumption of various animal products. Vitamin B-12 status appeared to be unrelated to consumption of several vegetarian foods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Specker
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Norman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003611:Dairy Products; D015623:Diet, Macrobiotic; D004531:Eggs; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008764:Methylmalonic Acid / Q000652:urine; D008875:Middle Aged; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014675:Vegetables; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D008764:Methylmalonic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12