{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T22:55:18Z","timestamp":1777416918795,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,19]],"date-time":"2025-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755561600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency can cause anemia, peripheral neuropathy, visual impairment and irreversible neurological damage. Little is known about public awareness of these neurological effects in Saudi Arabia. This study assessed awareness of the neurological impact of vitamin B12 deficiency among adults in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey in Riyadh between March and April 2024. Adults aged \u226518 years were recruited via social media. Individuals affiliated with the health sector were excluded to reduce bias. A validated questionnaire assessed sociodemographics, awareness of vitamin B12, dietary sources, deficiency symptoms and prevention. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Of 1,337 participants, 23 were excluded, leaving 1,314 respondents; 62.3% were female. Most (65.6%) recognized the importance of vitamin B12, 38.7% identified a dietary source, and 29.9% used supplements. Awareness of the neurological consequences of deficiency was reported by 63.4%. Women showed greater knowledge than men (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001), and employed participants or those in \u201cother\u201d occupations were more aware than students.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Overall awareness of vitamin B12 and its neurological consequences was moderate. However, knowledge of dietary sources and prevention strategies was limited, and misperceptions (e.g., fruits and vegetables as sources) were common. Targeted public-health education and nutritional counseling are needed to address these gaps.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2025.1635075","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,19]],"date-time":"2025-08-19T04:10:36Z","timestamp":1755576636000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Assessing the neurological impact of vitamin B12 deficiency among the population of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Khalid A.","family":"Bin Abdulrahman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdulelah F.","family":"Alshehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Faisal Marzouq","family":"Almutairi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Faisal Ali","family":"Almahyawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rayan Saleh","family":"Alzahrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Osama Thamer","family":"Al-Ahmari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Khalid","family":"Alshammari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Turki Ahmed","family":"Aljuhani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yazeed Yahya","family":"Alkadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohammed Atiah","family":"Alisi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2734","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15122734","article-title":"Vitamin B12-multifaceted in vivo functions and in vitro applications","volume":"15","author":"Halczuk","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nutrients."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jn\/nxy201","article-title":"Biomarkers of nutrition for development (BOND): vitamin B-12 review","author":"Allen","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Nutr."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1016\/bs.vh.2022.01.016","article-title":"Vitamin B12 absorption and malabsorption","volume":"119","author":"Gu\u00e9ant","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vitam Horm."},{"key":"B4","author":"Al-Awami","year":"2023","journal-title":"Physiology, Gastric Intrinsic Factor"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"571","DOI":"10.3945\/ajcn.2009.28082","article-title":"Daily intake of 4 to 7 microg dietary vitamin B-12 is associated with steady concentrations of vitamin B-12-related biomarkers in a healthy young population","volume":"91","author":"Bor","year":"2010","journal-title":"Am J Clin Nutr."},{"key":"B6","volume-title":"Recommended Dietary Allowances: 10th Edition","year":"1989"},{"key":"B7","article-title":"Present knowledge in nutrition","volume-title":"Basic Nutrition and Metabolism","author":"Marriott","year":"2012"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2214","DOI":"10.1182\/blood-2008-03-040253","article-title":"How I treat cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency","volume":"112","author":"Carmel","year":"2008","journal-title":"Blood."},{"key":"B9","first-page":"1425","article-title":"Update on vitamin B12 deficiency","volume":"83","author":"Langan","year":"2011","journal-title":"Am Fam Physician."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"CD004655","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD004655.pub3","article-title":"Oral vitamin B12 versus intramuscular vitamin B12 for vitamin B12 deficiency","volume":"3","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.3390\/dietetics3020010","article-title":"Common nutritional shortcomings in vegetarians and vegans","volume":"3","author":"Gibbs","year":"2024","journal-title":"Dietetics."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e49343","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.49343","article-title":"Awareness of the effect of vitamin B12 deficiency on the nervous system among the general population in Taif, Saudi Arabia","volume":"15","author":"Alqurashi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.51847\/vu0Tnuv","article-title":"Awareness of the importance and deficiency of vitamin B12 among Saudi population","volume":"8","author":"AlMufarej","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Pharmaceut Res Allied Sci."},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e72266","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.72266","article-title":"Assessing Knowledge and Perceptions of Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Its Impact on the Nervous System","volume":"16","author":"Binsiddiq","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cureus."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1369","DOI":"10.1017\/S00071145100050277","article-title":"Food and nutrient intakes of French frequent seafood consumers with regard to fish consumption recommendations: results from the CALIPSO study","volume":"105","author":"Sirot","year":"2011","journal-title":"Br J Nutr."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"541","DOI":"10.1038\/ejcn.2014.46","article-title":"The prevalence of cobalamin deficiency among vegetarians assessed by serum vitamin B12: a review of literature","volume":"68","author":"Pawlak","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eur J Clin Nutr."},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"708","DOI":"10.5455\/2320-6012.ijrms20150334","article-title":"Knowledge and awareness about iron deficiency and megaloblastic anaemia among blood donors: a study at rural based tertiary care hospital","volume":"3","author":"Shah","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int J Res Med Sci."},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4138187","DOI":"10.1155\/2019\/4138187","article-title":"Awareness of vitamin D deficiency among the general population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia","volume":"2019","author":"Alamoudi","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Nutr Metab."},{"key":"B19","first-page":"35","article-title":"Attitudes and behavior toward sunlight exposure and knowledge about vitamin D among Omani female university students","volume":"8","author":"Khan","year":"2017","journal-title":"EC Nutrition."},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.51847\/zXSQhK2rwW","article-title":"Awareness of vitamin D deficiency among the general population in Taif City, Saudi Arabia","volume":"14","author":"AlGarni","year":"2023","journal-title":"Arch Pharm Pract."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnut.2025.1635075\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,19]],"date-time":"2025-08-19T04:10:37Z","timestamp":1755576637000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fnut.2025.1635075\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,19]]},"references-count":20,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fnut.2025.1635075"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fnut.2025.1635075","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-861X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-861X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,19]]},"article-number":"1635075"}}