What is the Difference Between Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Deficiency

The key difference between vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency is that vitamin B12 deficiency happens when the body is not getting enough vitamin B12 or not absorbing enough vitamin B12 from the food, while folic acid deficiency happens when the body is not getting enough folic acid or not absorbing enough folic acid from the food.

Anemia is a serious medical condition that causes blood to produce a lower-than-normal amount of healthy red blood cells. Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency can lead to anemia. Deficiency of either of these vitamins can lead to symptoms such as extreme tiredness, a lack of energy, pins and needles sensation, a sore and red tongue, ulcers in the mouth, muscle weakness, vision problems, psychological problems, and problems with memory.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Vitamin B12 Deficiency
3. What is Folic Acid Deficiency
4. Similarities – Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Deficiency
5. Vitamin B12 vs. Folic Acid Deficiency in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Vitamin B12 vs. Folic Acid Deficiency

What is Vitamin B12 Deficiency?

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a condition that occurs when blood lacks the required amount of vitamin 12 it needs to function properly. Vitamin B12 is very important in making red blood cells and DNA in all of the cells. People who are 60 years old or older are more likely to have this condition compared to other younger age groups. Approximately 1.5 % to 15 % of people suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency. It can be caused by a lack of vitamin B12 in the diet, gastritis, pernicious anemia, digestive diseases, surgery, alcohol use disorder, and transcobalamin II deficiency.

The symptoms of this condition may include feeling tired, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, weight loss, sore tongue, yellowish skin, numbness or tingling, vision problems, getting confused easily, having a difficult time walking, neurological problems, feeling depressed or irritable, and experiencing a change in feelings and behaviour.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can be diagnosed through medical history, physical symptom evaluation, a complete blood count (CBC), and neurological examination. Furthermore, vitamin B12 deficiency can be treated through vitamin B12 oral medication, intramuscular injections, nasal gel, and nasal spray (cyanocobalamin).

What is Folic Acid Deficiency?

Folic acid deficiency is a condition that occurs when blood lacks the required amount of folic acid it needs to function properly. Folate or folic acid is a B vitamin found naturally in many foods people eat. Folic acid is important to make new red blood cells and DNA in the cells. Folic acid is also important for developing fetus. Digestive system diseases, excessive alcohol use, overcooking fruits and vegetables, hemolytic anemia, certain medications, medications like anti-seizure drugs and ulcerative colitis drugs, and kidney dialysis cause folic acid deficiency.

The symptoms of folic acid deficiency may include paleness, shortness of breath, irritability, dizziness, tender red tongue, sores in the mouth, reduced sense of taste, memory loss, difficulties in concentrating, confusion, problems with judgement, lack of energy, weakness in muscles, depression, weight loss, and diarrhoea. The risk factors for this condition include heavy alcohol abuse, pregnancy, being of childbearing age, vitamin-poor diet, medical conditions like sickle cell disease, low socioeconomic status, elderly people living in institutions, genetic polymorphism in MTHFR gene, malabsorption syndromes, and certain medications.

Folic acid deficiency can be diagnosed through medical history, physical symptoms evaluation, and a complete blood count (CBC). Furthermore, folic acid deficiency is treated through folic acid supplements and a balanced diet, which includes fruits, vegetables, and other foods that contain folate or are enriched with folic acid.

What are the Similarities Between Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Deficiency?

• Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency can lead to anemia.
• Both deficiencies affect red blood cells and DNA production.
• Deficiency of either of these vitamins can lead to symptoms such as extreme tiredness, a lack of energy, pins and needles sensation, a sore and red tongue, ulcers in the mouth, muscle weakness, vision problems, psychological problems, and problems with memory.
• Both deficiencies can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, and blood tests.
• They can be treated through supplements and a balanced diet.

What is the Difference Between Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Deficiency?

Vitamin B12 deficiency happens when the body is not getting enough vitamin B12 or not absorbing enough vitamin B12 from the food, while folic acid deficiency happens when the body is not getting enough folic acid or not absorbing enough folic acid from the food. Thus, this is the key difference between vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency. Furthermore, the risk factors for Vitamin B12 deficiency include people who are 60 years old or older and heavy alcohol consumption. On the other hand, the risk factors for folic acid deficiency include heavy alcohol abuse, pregnancy, being of childbearing age, vitamin-poor diet, medical conditions like sickle cell disease, low socioeconomic status, elderly people living in institutions, a genetic polymorphism in a gene called MTHFR gene, malabsorption syndromes and certain medications.

The infographic below presents the differences between vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Vitamin B12 vs. Folic Acid Deficiency

Anemia is a problem due to not having enough healthy red blood cells or haemoglobin. It can be caused by iron deficiency, vitamin deficiency (vitamin B12 or folic acid), or due to not making enough new blood cells, bone marrow diseases, destruction of red blood cells faster than they are being replaced by the bone marrow, and sickle cell disease. Therefore, vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency can lead to anemia. Vitamin B12 deficiency occurs when the blood lacks the required amount of vitamin 12 it needs to function properly, while folic acid deficiency occurs when the blood lacks the required amount of folic acid it needs to function properly. So, this summarizes the difference between vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency.

Reference:

1. “Vitamin B12 Deficiency.” Statpearls – NCBI Bookshelf.
2.“Folate-Deficiency Anemia.” Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Image Courtesy:

1. “VitB12DefFull” By Chiara Briani,1,* Chiara Dalla Torre,1 Valentina Citton,2 Renzo Manara,2,3 Sara Pompanin,1 Gianni Binotto,4 and Fausto Adami4 – NCBI (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Cerebral Folate Deficiency – Cerebral CT-scan at 4 years old” By Sarah Mafi, Pierre-Antoine Faye – MDPI (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia