Anemia, serum vitamin B12, and folic acid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Tuesday, January 20th, 2004
Related ArticlesAnemia, serum vitamin B12, and folic acid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Rheumatol Int. 2004 Jan;24(1):14-9
Authors: Segal R, Baumoehl Y, Elkayam O, Levartovsky D, Litinsky I, Paran D, Wigler I, Habot B, Leibovitz A, Sela BA, Caspi D
OBJECTIVE:Although anemia is frequent in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, data regarding vitamin B12 status is scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence and nature of B12 and folic acid (FA) deficiencies in a cohort of rheumatic patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Levels of B12, FA, and parameters of anemia were recovered or examined in 276 outpatients. In those with recent findings of low serum B12 levels, further studies of serum homocysteine (Hcy) and urine methylmalonic acid (MMA) levels were performed. RESULTS: The incidence of anemia was high: 49%, 46%, and 35%, in RA, SLE, and PsA, respectively. Low levels of serum B12 were also frequent (24%), with almost similar occurrence in the three disease groups. Deficiency in FA was rare (
PMID: 12720045 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
]]>