All humans need an adequate amount of vitamin B-12 and folate to stay healthy. Vitamin B-12 is required for proper neurological function, blood cell formation, and DNA synthesis. It is also a vital component of the body's protein and fat metabolism process. Folate, on the other hand, is needed for creating and maintaining healthy cells. This makes it especially critical during the various stages of physical development that infants and children must go through, when rapid cellular division occurs. Folate is required for DNA and RNA synthesis. It helps prevent anemia and, like vitamin B-12, allows for the normal formation of red blood cells. Deficiency in either of these vitamins can have serious effects on children and infants.
Birth Defects and Developmental Issues
The most serious effects of folate deficiency occur in infants whose mothers did not get enough folate during the pregnancy, the Office of Dietary Supplements notes. Life-threatening neural tube defects can occur in the unborn child when mothers don't get enough folate before the first trimester, such as spina bifida or spinal malformation, and anencephaly, or skull and brain malformation.
A vitamin B-12 deficiency can also cause serious developmental delays in children, Psychology Today reports. Affected children displayed only around half the language and motor skill capabilities for their age group, along with low learning motivation.
Megaloblastic Anemia
A deficiency either in folate or vitamin B-12 can lead to megaloblastic anemia, the Linus Pauling Institute notes. In this specific form of anemia, red blood cells are much larger but fewer in number, which makes it difficult for the body to get oxygen from the blood. Some children with anemia may not feel any symptoms, while others may experience faintness, heart palpitations, weakness, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, inability to sense position of extremities, loss of appetite and constipation.
Gastrointestinal and Neurological Symptoms
A vitamin B-12 deficiency can result in various neurologic symptoms MedlinePlus explains. These include difficulty walking, memory loss, mood changes, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, though these may not be necessarily related to anemia. The lack of vitamin B-12 can lead to damage of the cranial, spinal and peripheral nerves. Tongue soreness, constipation and loss of appetite loss have also been associated with this condition, most likely caused by stomach inflammation or impairment of the capability of gastrointestinal cells to divide.
Interaction between B-12 and Folate
The partially overlapping effects of vitamin B-12 and folate may create a potential issue with accurate diagnosis, the Office of Dietary Supplements explains. If the patient has a sufficiently large folate intake, this may correct the effects of megaloblastic anemia caused by vitamin B-12 deficiency, but it has no positive effect on the neurological damage that occurs. What's more, early research seems to suggest that high folate levels may even worsen the negative cognitive effects and the associated anemia. Without treating the B-12 deficiency, permanent nerve damage may result.
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