Thiamin (Vitamin B1) Levels in Eating Disorder Adolescent Patients

Evaluating the B1 Status in Eating Disorder Female Adolescent Patients

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) is a water soluble essential nutrient; it is synthesized by a variety of plants and microorganisms. Since animals usually cannot synthesis it, humans must be supplied with exogenous vitamin B1 in the diet. The human storage of thiamine is small- about 30mg, an intake of 1-2 mg a day is needed to maintain this pool. Deficiency might occur when the vitamin is depleted from the diet in a short period. Vitamin B1 has a role in energy metabolism and main biosynthetic pathways. Low thiamine causes illnesses in the central and peripheral nervous systems as well as affecting the heart and gastrointestinal systems.

Deficiency may occur from malnutrition of different mechanisms such as alcoholism, lack in diet and recently secondary to anti-obesity surgery and few case reports described eating disorders as the reason for developing deficiency causing neuropathy, (1,2) and encephalopathy (3,4,5).

One of the presentations of thiamine deficiency is peripheral neuropathy mimicking Guillain-Barre syndrome, and administering the lacking vitamin improves the symptoms.

One study examined the prevalence of vitamin B1 deficiency in adult anorexia nervosa patients (6) by measurement of the activation of the enzyme erythrocyte transketolase following addition of thiamin pyrophosphate and comparing them to control of blood donors. This study found significant lower levels of vitamin B1 in the anorectic patient compared to the controls.

Rational of the study:

The investigators assume that these few cases described of overt neurologic impairment due to vitamin B1 deficiency because of distorted eating are just the "tip of the iceberg" and more eating disorders patients lack thiamine, that may have neuropsychiatric effect on the illness and identifying and treating the shortage may improve the symptoms of the disorder and maybe even the distorted thoughts that are fundamental in eating disorders.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Eating Disorders

Detailed Description

Methods:

In Assaf Harofe medical center over 50 adolescents (mainly girls) aged 10-18 years are treated annually for eating disorders by a multidisciplinary team. Their nutritional and medical condition is assessed also by blood analysis routinely. The investigators are planning to check thiamine status in eating disorders female patients in different stages of treatment, comparing them with age and sex matched controls that do not have eating disorders problems. The control group will be recruited from patient treated in the outpatient day hospital and have blood tested anyhow that don't suffer from eating, metabolic, nutritional or gastrointestinal disorders.

The researchers will look for correlation between different types of eating disorders, nutritional state, treatment progress and levels of vitamin B1.

Thiamin will be determined in whole blood using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) that is superior to the previous method as described above, determining thiamin diphosphate; the physiologically active form of vitamin B1 accurately.

Sample size: A previous study on thiamine concentration in 50 healthy French volunteers found a standard deviation (SD) of 15 nmol/l (7). 17 patients in each group were required in order to detect a 15 nmol/l difference in mean thiamine levels with a power of 80% and Alfa of 0.05. In order to overcome a possibly higher SD and to allow for subgroup analysis , we decided to recruit 30 patients for each group.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 69

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Zrifin, Israel, 70300
    • Pediatric devision Assaf harofeh MC

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 12 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

adolescent girls with eating disordes aged 12-18

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adolescent girls aged 12-18

Exclusion Criteria:

• Girls suffering from metabolic
• Nutritional or gastrointestinal disorders

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
B1 blood levels

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
establishing B1 levels	one year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Assaf-Harofeh Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: March 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): January 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 6, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 13, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): June 16, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 27, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 24, 2020
• Last Verified: May 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: B1 adolescents Eating disorders Thaimine
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Disease; Feeding and Eating Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 214/12