The Examination of Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Levels in Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aimed to compare with vitamin B12 and folic acid levels in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Methods: The sample of the cross-sectional study consists of a total of 369 patients who were admitted to a psychiatric clinic with 147 schizophrenia and 222 bipolar disorder. Laboratory findings and patient information were reviewed retrospectively through the hospital information system. Results: When Vitamin B12 levels were examined, there was a significant difference between the levels of vitamin B12 (308.01±138.31 pg/mL) and patients with bipolar disorder (344.20±141.62 pg/mL) in schizophrenic patients (p= 0.01).There was no significant difference between folic acid levels in both diagnostic groups. Vitamin B12 values of women with bipolar disorder (339.34±125.93 pg/mL) were found to be significantly higher than women with schizophrenia (293.08±114.38 pg/mL) (p=0.003). Conclusion: One of the results of this study was that the vitamin B12 level of the schizophrenic patient group was lower than the bipolar disorder group. Further studies are needed in order to fully understand the role of folic acid and vitamin B12 in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.