Abstract

Recently, type 2 diabetes has been closely correlated with vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and vitamin B9 (folate) deficiencies. The observed parallels between metformin dosage and B-vitamin deficiencies have led to vitamin B12 serum level monitoring and corrective or preventative B-vitamin supplementation in many diabetes patients. Existing literature lacks information on confounding demographic factors that could potentially contribute to cobalamin and folate deficiency in patients taking metformin. This analysis of CDC data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey uses several categorical patient subgroups to investigate the incidence of vitamin B12 and vitamin B9 deficiencies among diabetic patients, as well as the potential link between abnormal serum B-vitamin levels and the prominent type 2 diabetes prescription medication, metformin.