Public Health

Permanent URI for this collection

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Determination of the normal level of vitamin B12 among Palestinian Adolescents (10-18 years old) in north West Bank
(2010) Amani Ghaleb Mahmoud Yasin; Dr. Aymen Hussein
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the normal level of vitamin B12 among Palestinian adolescents (10-18 years old) in north West Bank and to assess associated socio demographic variables. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted by collecting data from 404 adolescents (10-18 years old) from regions of North West Bank. CBC as well as vitamin B12 tests were conducted alongside a designed questionnaire to obtain different demographic and other factors from participants. Results: The data of this study showed that 43.3% (88/203) of boys and 44.8% (90/201) of girls have vitamin B12 level of <200 pg/mL. However, only 10 of those have MCV level > 92 fl indicating that 94.4% of those with vitamin B12 level < 200 pg/mL cannot be considered having vitaminB12 deficiency. Examination of the school children under study showed that they had no symptoms associated with vitamin B12 deficiency. These results suggest that the normal vitaminB12 level among Palestinian adolescents have to be investigated. Demographic data and food habits analysis among participants showed that there are no significant association between vitaminB12 level and the following variables (p-value> 0.05): place of residence, family income, number of family members, food habits.