The Serum Vitamin B₁₂ Concentration in the General Population

Abstract

The serum vitamin B 12 concentration was estimated in a random sample of two communities; an industrial and an agricultural one. A total of 890 people were studied. The frequency distribution of serum vitamin B 12 concentration shows that the range of values is wide and that the serum vitamin B 12 level falls with increasing age. For general purposes the results of this study may be summarised by standardising at age 50 years, using the regression coefficient — 1.254 μμg per ml per year of age, which summarises the gradient with age over the whole age range studied. Thus the adjusted means and standard errors, 255.2 ± 5.45 μμg per ml for the industrial men and 262 ± 10.06 μμg per ml for the women, compare closely with the agricultural community where the figures for the men are 260 ± 9.52 and for the women 272 ± 8.45 μμg per ml.