Elevated B12 levels and mortality among inpatients at a university hospital in Colombia

Introduction: An association between high vitamin B12 levels and the occurrence of multiple diseases has been reported. Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of inpatients with high levels of vitamin B12, as well as their 1-year mortality rate. Materials and methods: Retrospective observational study conducted in 93 patients with elevated B12 levels treated at the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogotá (Colombia) between 2013 and 2020. Data are described using measures of central tendency and dispersion. Bivariate analyses were performed (unpaired two-samples t-test, chi-square test or Mann-Whitney U test depending on the type of variable) to determine differences between patients with high B12 levels and those with very high levels. Results: Participant’s median age was 68 years, 62.36% were male, and 61.29% had two or more comorbidities related to high B12 levels. In addition, in 86.02% of the patients, vitamin B12 level was not interpreted as abnormal by the treating physician. Significant differences were found between patients with high B12 levels and those with very high levels in terms of history of smoking (p=0.043) and the presence of systemic lupus erythematosus (p=0.012). Finally, the 1-year mortality rate was 59.13%. Conclusion: The 1-year mortality rate was high, and a high percentage of patients had at least two comorbidities that were associated with high B12 levels. Moreover, in most of the participants, the treating physician did not correctly interpret the elevated level of this vitamin.