LAUSR

BACKGROUND it has been shown that vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause hematological and neuropsychiatric disorders, may also be associated with cardiac autonomic dysfunction, heart rate variability, endothelial dysfunction, and a decrease in myocardial deformation. AIMS the aim of our study is to evaluate the relationship between vitamin B12 levels and electrocardiographic repolarization disorders, which are indicators of arrhythmogenic predisposition in healthy individuals. METHODS our study population consisted of 214 healthy adults. Considering the distribution of vitamin B12 levels and accepting 25 % and 75 % percentiles as the cut-off values, the participants were divided into 3 groups. Laboratory, echocardiography and electrocardiography (ECG) measurements were compared between three groups. ECG measurements were performed manually and Tpeak-Tend (Tp-e), Tp-e corrected (Tp-ec), QT and QT corrected (QTc) intervals were calculated. RESULTS the patients in Group 1 (vitamin B12 < 253 pg/ml) were found to have significantly higher QT and QTc dispersions, Tp-e interval, Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/QTc ratios when compared to those in Group 2 (253 pg/ml < vitamin B12 > 436 pg/ml) and Group 3 (vitamin B12 > 436 pg/ml). On the other hand, a negative significant correlation was detected between vitamin B12 levels and Tp-e, Tp-e/QT, Tp-e/QTc ratios, QT and QTc dispersions. CONCLUSION a low level of vitamin B12 in healthy individuals can be a significant indicator of arrhythmogenic susceptibility. A close follow-up of these subjects in terms of arrhythmogenic predisposition can be useful.