COBALAMINOPENIA IN A POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETY - MINIMAL INCIDENCE, AGE DISTRIBUTION, AND DIFFERENCES BY SEX

The aim of this study was to obtain a conservative estimate of the cur rent incidence of low serum cobalamin levels (cobalaminopenia) in a mo dern, postindustrial region in Sweden, All serum cobalamin determinati ons made during 1993 in one health care area (Umea) with 131,393 inhab itants were analyzed, These analyses were all performed in a single la boratory; data were available for 6451 serum samples from 5225 patient s, Serum cobalamin levels < 145 pmol/L (corresponding to the lowest de cile determined in previous years) were identified in 582 samples from 473 patients, Data from these samples were further investigated to de termine distributions of cobalaminopenia based on age and sex, The ove rall minimal incidence of low serum cobalamin levels (< 145 pmol/L) wa s 0.36%; the incidence increased with age. Low serum cobalamin levels occurred significantly more frequently in women aged 15 to 44 years th an in men in the same age group. In contrast, men older than 70 years of age were more prone to cobalaminopenia than women of the same age, The current minimal incidence of low serum cobalamin values suggests a dequate functioning of social and health care networks, with an overal l minimal incidence of cobalaminopenia of 0.36% and a projected incide nce of cobalaminopenia in the Umea health care area of approximately 1 %.