Food-cobalamin malabsorption in elderly patients: clinical manifestations and treatment.
Fiche publication
Date publication
octobre 2005
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr KURTZ Jean-Emmanuel
Tous les auteurs :
Andres E, Affenberger S, Vinzio S, Kurtz JE, Noel E, Kaltenbach G, Maloisel F, Schlienger JL, Blickle JF
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
PURPOSE: Approximately 15% of people aged more than 60 years old have a cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency, mainly in relation with food-cobalamin malabsorption (FCM). To date, no study has documented this disorder in the elderly. There is also little information on clinical consequences. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We studied 92 elderly patients with well-established FCM who were extracted from an observational cohort study (1995-2004) of 172 consecutive elderly patients with documented cobalamin deficiency. RESULTS: The median patient age was 76 +/- 8 years; 60 patients were women. The most common clinical manifestations were neurologic or psychologic: mild sensory polyneuropathy (44.6%), confusion or impaired mental functioning (22.8%), and physical asthenia (20.7%). Hematologic abnormalities were reported in at least one third of the patients: anemia (21%), leukopenia (10.9%), thrombopenia (8.7%), and pancytopenia (6.5%). All patients had low serum vitamin B12 levels (
Référence
Am J Med. 2005 Oct;118(10):1154-9.