Vitamin B12 and folate are separate tests often used in conjunction to detect deficiencies and to help diagnose the cause of certain anemias, such as pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disease that affects the absorption of B12. B12 and folate are two vitamins that cannot be produced by the body and must be supplied by the diet. They are required for normal red blood cell formation, repair of tissues and cells, and synthesis of DNA. B12 is also essential for proper nerve function. B12 and folate levels may be ordered when a complete blood count is done as a part of a routine health checkup. Testing for B12 and folate levels may be appropriate when a person has signs and symptoms of deficiency, such as:
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Pale skin
- Rapid heart beat
- Shortness of breath
- Sore tongue and mouth
- Tingling or numbness in the extremities
- Confusion
- Paranoia
A low B12 or folate level in a person with signs and symptoms indicates that the person has a deficiency but does not necessarily reflect a medical condition. Some causes of low B12 include:
- Dietary deficiencies (although this is rare in America due to our fortified food products, vegans can experience issues as most B12 dense foods are animal products)
- Malabsorption in the small intestine due to
- Pernicious anemia
- Celiac disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Heavy drinking / chronic alcoholism
- Certain medications
- Pregnancy, all women need increased B12 and folate for proper fetal development
Understand and improve your laboratory results with our health dashboard.
Upload your lab reports and get your interpretation today.
Our technology helps to understand, combine, track, organize, and act on your medical lab test results.
The most common cause of high B12 in the blood is due to recent ingestion or injection of supplemental vitamin B12. It could also be possibly from your diet if high in animal products such as meat, eggs, and shellfish.
Limited observational studies have reported associations of increased vitamin B12 levels with other conditions and disease states, including:
- Liver disease due to release of B12 from damaged liver cells into the bloodstream
- Kidney disease due to impaired function of the kidneys to excrete excess B12
- Increased levels of transcobalamin, which is a transporter of B12 in the bloodstream
- Inflammatory conditions: rheumatoid arthritis, lupus
- Hematologic (or blood) cancers: acute leukemia, multiple myeloma
- Hematopoietic disorder: myeloproliferative neoplasm, myelodysplastic syndrome, hypereosinophilic syndrome, transient neutrophilia
Most of the medical conditions often present with other abnormal lab findings such as impaired kidney function, liver function, anemia, low white blood cell count and also other signs and symptoms of problems.
If higher levels of B12 persist, it may be worthwhile seeing a hematologist for a follow up evaluation to receive further review of your history, family history and further laboratory testing if appropriate, especially if the levels continue to be high.
Additional note: Please consult your doctor before making any changes in your diet or supplement regimen. You might want to avoid supplements high in B12 for now, eat a varied healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and check to see if B12 is in any supplements you take.
Interpret Your Lab Results
Upload your lab report, and we'll interpret and provide you with recommendations today.
Get StartedMonthly plan
Annual plan
Own it for life
Our exclusive data entry service is a convenient way to get your results into your private dashboard. Simply attach an image or a file of your lab test results, and one of our qualified data entry team members will add the results for you. We support all sorts of files, whether PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is excellent whether you have a lot of reports to upload or are too busy to do the data entry yourself.
We strive to make the data entry process easy for you. Whether by offering dozens of templates to choose from that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels or by giving you instant feedback on the entered values. Our data entry forms are an easy, fast, and convenient way to enter the reports yourself. There is no limit on how many lab reports you can upload.
$15 /month
billed every month
Most popular
Data entry included
$79 /year
$6.60/month billed annually
Data entry included
$250 /once
own it for life
Are You a Health Professional?
Get started with our professional plan
Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.
Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more
Pro Monthly Plus
for health professionals
$75 per month
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
Antiparietal Cell Antibody, Calcitriol (1,25 di-OH Vit D), Copper, Pl, Intrinsic Factor Antibodies (Serum), Intrinsic Factor Blocking Antibody, Manganese, Methylmalonic Acid, Serum, Nicotinamide, Nicotinic Acid, Phosphate (Phosphorus), Retinol binding Protein (RbP), Vit B12 Binding Capacity, Unsat (Transcobalamin), Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Plasma, Vitamin B2, Whole Blood, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B9 (Folate), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, Vitamin E (Gamma Tocopherol), Vitamin E (Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Vitamin K1, Zinc, RBC