COBALAMIN DEFICIENCY IN THE ELDERLY
Journal: Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases
Year: 2020

Older people are at risk for cobalamin (vitamin B<sub>12</sub>) deficiency because of a number of common disorders (e.g., autoimmune gastritis) and drugs (e.g., antacids) that may alter its absorption and utilization. The prevalence of cobalamin deficiency increases with age, resulting, particularly elevated, in frail and institutionalized subjects. At variance with common sense, the diagnosis is far from simple. It requires a high degree of suspicion, due to heterogeneity and non-specificity of