VITAMIN B12, DEPRESSION AND TYPE 2 DIABETES (LITERATURE REVIEW)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21856/j-PEP.2025.4.07Keywords:
vitamin B12, depression, diabetes mellitus, diabetic neuropathy, neurodegenerative diseases, reviewAbstract
Cognitive impairments are becoming an increasingly serious concern, especially among the elderly, with significant consequences both for individual well-being and for healthcare systems worldwide. The main manifestations of these impairments include memory decline, deterioration of executive functions, language disorders, and reduced attention span, all of which markedly affect quality of life. Although genetic predisposition, aging, and lifestyle factors are commonly identified as primary contributors to cognitive decline, there is growing recognition of the crucial role of biofactors – particularly essential ones – in maintaining optimal brain function. Enriching the diet with certain biofactors may serve as a valuable adjunct to conventional therapy for the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications. This is due to the fact that, on the one hand, diabetes is often associated with systemic deficiencies of several biofactors, while on the other hand, their positive effects have been observed even in individuals without such deficiencies.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can negatively affect cognitive functions such as memory, information processing speed, and logical reasoning. Studies indicate a close association between cobalamin deficiency, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, vitamin B12 deficiency leads to myelin degeneration, disrupting nerve signal transmission. The resulting symptoms may range from memory loss and confusion to severe motor dysfunction and dementia. Clinical studies and animal experiments demonstrate that chronic vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with white matter damage in the brain-a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. The interplay of various dietary, physiological, and environmental factors contributing to cobalamin deficiency significantly impacts cognitive health. This underscores the urgent need for proactive public health measures to address the problem. Advances in biomarkers and neuroimaging techniques offer substantial potential to improve diagnostic accuracy and enable early detection of cognitive disorders related to vitamin B12 deficiency.
This review aimed to discuss the role of vitamin B12 in the development and progression of depressive disorders, its relationship with vitamin B12 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and to analyze emerging trends and directions for future research. A literature search was conducted using the databases Web of Science, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, MedLine, EMBASE, Global Health, etc.
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