Evaluation of serum levels of Vitamin B12 , Vitamin 9 and zinc in Children Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Background: The complicated neurodevelopmental disease known as autism, or autism spectrum disorder, is often identified in a child's first three years of life. Cobalamin, another name for vitamin B12, is a water-soluble vitamin that is necessary for several bodily physiological functions. Adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin are two coenzyme forms of vitamin B12 that are involved in the metabolism of propionate, amino acids, and single-carbon units. The study aims to investigate whether serum Vitamin B12 , Vitamin 9  and zinc levels are associated with ASD and compare it with the control group in Kirkuk City.

Materials and Methods: From November 2024 to February 2025, a case-control research was conducted at the Pediatrics Hospital and two children's autism centers in Kirkuk City, Iraq: the Al-Irada Center for Autism and the Al-Tammauz Center for Autism. Kirkuk City, in northern Iraq, around 238 kilometers north of the capital, Baghdad, is where the study was carried out.

Results: The city is well-known for both its substantial economic significance and its diversified population. There are 56 patients with ASD in total. There were fifteen girls and forty-one males. They were between the ages of three and twelve.  There were thirty-two healthy subjects in the control group of the current investigation. Nine of them were female, while twenty-three were male. They were between the ages of three and twelve. Provides the research participants' family history and demographic details. The median age (IQR) of the 88 participants was 6 years (4–8). The ASD group had a lower median age (5.00 years [IQR: 4.00, 8.00] vs. 7.00 years [IQR: 4.75, 9.50]; p = 0.058) than the control group. The median Zinc (Mg/dl) was significantly higher in the control group compared to the ASD group (106.35 (76.25, 133.60) Mg/dl vs. 76.60 (64.65, 96.65) Mg/dl; p = 0.004).