The Study
Association of Vitamin B12 Deficiency with Fatigue and Depression after Lacunar Stroke
This study found that people who had a small stroke and also had low vitamin B12 tended to feel more tired and sadder than others. But it doesn't prove that low B12 made them feel that way—it could be that feeling tired and sad changed how their body used B12, or something else (like diet) caused both.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
After a small stroke in the brain, some people feel super tired and sad. This study checked if that’s linked to not having enough vitamin B12.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — fatigue and depression scores were high enough to be clinically meaningful, suggesting low B12 might make recovery harder.
- 2Of 40 stroke patients, 13 had low B12.
- 3They scored 90.7 on fatigue (vs 59.4) and 6.62 on depression (vs 3.89) — much higher than those with normal B12.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
PLoS ONE
Year
2012
Authors
M. Huijts, A. Duits, J. Staals, R. V. van Oostenbrugge
Related Content
Claims (2)
Low levels of folate and Vitamin B12 are associated with the rise in chronic fatigue cases in modern populations.
In people who recently had a small stroke, low vitamin B12 levels are linked to higher reported fatigue and more severe depressive symptoms compared to those with normal vitamin B12 levels, even when accounting for age and brain damage severity.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.