Metformin and vitamin B12 deficiency

Metformin and vitamin B12 deficiency

Monitor your patients on metformin for vitamin B12 deficiency. This is the message of a recent study from the Netherlands. The study enrolled 390 patients with type 2 diabetes on insulin and initiated metformin 850 mg three times a day or placebo for an average of 4.3 years. Metformin treatment was associated with a mean decrease in vitamin B12 concentrations of 19% (P < 0.001) and an increase in homocysteine concentrations of 5% (P = 0.091). Longer-term treatment with metformin was associated with larger declines in vitamin B12 levels. The authors conclude that metformin likely causes malabsorption of vitamin B12 and recommends routine monitoring of vitamin B12 levels in patients who are treated with metformin (BMJ 2010;340:c2181).