Contents:
- Medical Video: Megaloblastic Anaemia: Vit B12 & Folate Deficiency Anaemia, Pernicious Anaemia (HD)
- Complications of anemia
- Neurological changes
- Infertility
- Stomach cancer
- Neural tube defects (neural tube defects)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Labor disorders
Medical Video: Megaloblastic Anaemia: Vit B12 & Folate Deficiency Anaemia, Pernicious Anaemia (HD)
Most cases of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency can be easily and effectively treated and their complications are rare. However, complications can sometimes develop especially if you have experienced a vitamin deficiency long ago.
Complications of anemia
All types of anemia, regardless of their causes, can lead to complications of the heart and lungs because the heart struggles to pump oxygen to vital organs.
Adults with severe anemia are at risk:
- Abnormal rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
- Heart failure - the heart fails to pump enough blood throughout the body at the right pressure
Neurological changes
Lack of vitamin B12 can cause neurological problems (which affect the nervous system), such as:
- Visual impairment
- Memory loss
- Tingling sensation (paresthesia)
- Physical coordination loss (ataxia), which can affect performance throughout the body and cause difficulty speaking or walking
- Damage to the nervous system (peripheral neuropathy), especially on the feet
If neurological problems continue to develop, the disorder may not be cured.
Infertility
In some cases, vitamin B12 deficiency can cause temporary sterility (inability to get pregnant). This condition usually improves along with proper vitamin B12 treatment.
As with vitamin B12 deficiency, folate deficiency can also affect your fertility rate. However, this is only temporary and can usually be treated with folate supplements.
Stomach cancer
If you have vitamin B12 deficiency caused by pernicious anemia (a condition when the immune system attacks healthy cells in your stomach), the risk of developing stomach cancer will increase.
Research shows that folate deficiency can increase the risk of several types of cancer, such as colon cancer.
Neural tube defects (neural tube defects)
Pregnant women who do not have enough vitamin B12 are at risk of having a baby birth defect known as neural tube defects. The nerve tube is a narrow channel forming the brain and spinal cord.
Neural tube defects, including:
- Spina bifida - the baby's spine is not well developed
- Anencephaly - baby born without parts of the brain and skull
- Encephalocele - a membrane or skin sac containing a part of the brain pushed out through a hole in the skull
As with vitamin B12 deficiency, folate deficiency can also affect the growth and development of unborn babies in the uterus. Folate deficiency can increase the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida that develops in unborn babies.
Cardiovascular disease
Research shows that a lack of folate in the body can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular disease (CVD).
CVD is a general term that describes heart or blood vessel disease, such as coronary heart disease (CHD).
Labor disorders
Lack of supply of folate during pregnancy can increase the risk of premature babies (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or have a low birth weight.
Risk placental abruption it might also increase. Placental abruption is a serious condition in which the placenta begins to come from the inside of the uterine wall, causing stomach (abdominal) pain and bleeding from the vagina.
