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The following is a summary of “Associations of serum folate and vitamin B12 levels with all-cause mortality among patients with metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease: a prospective cohort study,” published in the December 2024 issue of Endocrinology by Zhu et al.  

Serum folate and vitamin B12 levels have been linked to fatty liver disease, but their impact on mortality remains unclear for individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).  

Researchers conducted a prospective study to examine the association of serum folate and vitamin B12 with all-cause mortality in individuals with MASLD.  

They used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), linking mortality follow-up data from the National Death Index. Multivariable Cox proportional regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models assessed the relationship between serum folate/vitamin B12 and all-cause mortality in 3,636 individuals with MASLD for folate and 2,125 for vitamin B12 (P<0.001 for folate, P=0.016 for vitamin B12).  

The results showed significant nonlinear associations of serum folate (P<0.001) and vitamin B12 (P=0.016) with all-cause mortality in individuals with MASLD. Compared to the lowest quartile, the risk of all-cause mortality was reduced by 42% and 28% in the third and fourth quartiles for vitamin B12 (HR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.39-0.86, P=0.008; HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.54-0.96, P=0.026, respectively). For folate, the third quartile showed a 28% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to the lowest quartile (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.57-0.91, P=0.005).  

They concluded that low serum folate and vitamin B12 levels were associated with a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality in individuals with MASLD.  

Source: frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2024.1426103/full