Intakes of Vitamin B-12 from Dairy Food, Meat, and Fish and Shellfish Are Independently and Positively Associated with Vitamin B-12 Biomarker Status in Pregnant Dutch Women

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition Vol. 149; no. 1; p. 131
• Main Authors: Denissen, Karlijn F M, Heil, Sandra G, Eussen, Simone J P M, Heeskens, Jim P J, Thijs, Carel, Mommers, Monique, Smits, Luc J M, van Dongen, Martien C J M, Dagnelie, Pieter C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-01-2019
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Biomarkers - blood; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dairy Products; Diet; Diet Records; Female; Fishes; Food Analysis; Humans; Meat; Nutritional Status; Pregnancy; Shellfish; Vitamin B 12 - administration & dosage
• ISSN: 1541-6100
• DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxy233

The effect of vitamin B-12 from different animal foods on vitamin B-12 biomarker status has not previously been evaluated in pregnant women.
We examined the association of vitamin B-12 intake from dairy, meat, fish (including shellfish), and eggs with circulating concentrations of vitamin B-12 biomarkers and with the presence of vitamin B-12 deficiency in 1266 pregnant women participating in the KOALA Birth Cohort Study.
Blood samples were collected in weeks 34-36 of pregnancy, and vitamin B-12 intake from foods and supplements was estimated with a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Total vitamin B-12, holotranscobalamin (holoTC), and methylmalonic acid (MMA) were determined in plasma. Vitamin B-12 deficiency was defined as holoTC <35 pmol/L and MMA >0.45 μmol/L. Associations were evaluated with linear and logistic regression analyses, adjusting for potential confounders.
Significant dose-response relations were observed between vitamin B-12 intake from dairy, meat, and fish and plasma vitamin B-12, holoTC, and MMA [P-trend for (shell)fish with MMA = 0.002; P-trend for dairy, meat, and fish with all other markers < 0.001]. The OR (95% CI) of vitamin B-12 deficiency in the third compared with the first tertile of dairy-derived vitamin B-12 was 0.13 (0.04, 0.49), and the ORs for vitamin B-12 from meat and fish were 0.33 (0.11, 0.97) and 0.25 (0.08, 0.82), respectively. Egg-derived vitamin B-12 was only associated with holoTC. Additional analyses showed that self-defined vegetarians and FFQ-defined lacto-ovo-vegetarians had lower median total dietary vitamin B-12 intake and considerably worse vitamin B-12 biomarker status than omnivores and pescatarians.
In pregnant Dutch women, higher intakes of vitamin B-12 from dairy, meat, and fish were positively associated with vitamin B-12 status, suggesting that dairy, meat, and fish are good sources of bioactive vitamin B-12 in pregnancy. Nevertheless, for (lacto-)vegetarians, vitamin B-12 supplementation is recommended.