Vitamin B6 Blood Levels Associated with All-Cause Mortality Risk

by | Feb 15, 2022 | 2021, Vitamin B6, Vitamins

Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Researchers suggest that to reduce the risk of mortality, it is essential to address vitamin B6 levels. 

B vitaminsMicronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are key components to the body’s functioning 1.  The 2017 Global Nutrition Report showed that an estimated one million premature deaths are due to micronutrient deficiencies 1,2.  Prevalence of Vitamin B6 deficiency is about 11% according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1,3.  Past research has shown that suboptimal levels of vitamin B6 were associated with an increased risk of the chronic diseases diabetes 4, cancer 5, and cardiovascular disease 6.  Current researchers wanted to investigate if blood levels of vitamin B6 were associated with all-cause and/or cause-specific morality 1.

The research included data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is a national survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC.  Blood serum levels of vitamin B6 (pyridoxal 5’ phosphate (PLP)) were measured from 2005 to 2010 in 21,281 NHANES participants.  From that group, a total of 12,190 participants met the inclusion criteria for the research.  The outcomes measured were all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality 1.

Of the 12,190 participants, 6010 were men (49%) and the average age was 46.6 years.  A total of 1244 died during the study period.  There were 294 cancer deaths and 235 cardiovascular disease deaths.  Vitamin B6 was sufficient in 70.6% of the participants, while 12.8% of the participants were deficient in vitamin B6.  Vitamin B6 status was defined as deficient (PLP <20 nmol/L), insufficient (PLP 20.0-30.0 nmol/L) or sufficient (PLP > 30.0 nmol/L).  Participants with higher vitamin B6 blood levels were more likely to be younger, married, non-Hispanic white, current drinkers, have higher education, perform physical activity weekly and were less likely to smoke cigarettes and be obese 1.

The results were as follows:

  • Participants with deficient blood serum levels of vitamin B6 had a 37% higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR=1.37, 95%CI=1.17, 1.60).
  • Participants with deficient blood serum levels of vitamin B6 had a 26% increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality (HR=1.26, 95%CI =0.89, 1.77), while those with insufficient vitamin B6 levels had a 7% increased risk (HR=1.07, 95%CI=0.65, 1.78).
  • There were no significant correlations found with cancer mortality rates.

In conclusion, vitamin B6 was inversely associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.  Researchers suggest that to reduce the risk of mortality, it is essential to address vitamin B6 levels.  A future randomized controlled study is needed to investigate more details on the associations found in this study 1.

Source: Yang, Donghui, Yan Liu, Yafeng Wang, Yudiyang Ma, Jianjun Bai, and Chuanhua Yu. “Association of Serum Vitamin B6 with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in a Prospective Study.” Nutrients 13, no. 9 (2021): 2977.

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

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Posted February 15, 2022.

Jessica Patella, ND, is a naturopathic physician specializing in nutrition and homeopathic medicine and offers a holistic approach to health. She earned her ND from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ, and is a member of the North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Visit her website at www.awarenesswellness.com.

References:

  1. Yang D, Liu Y, Wang Y, Ma Y, Bai J, Yu C. Association of Serum Vitamin B6 with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in a Prospective Study. Nutrients. Aug 27 2021;13(9)doi:10.3390/nu13092977
  2. Organization WH. Global Nutrition Report 2017: Nourishing the SDGs.
  3. Pfeiffer CM, Sternberg MR, Schleicher RL, Haynes BM, Rybak ME, Pirkle JL. The CDC’s Second National Report on Biochemical Indicators of Diet and Nutrition in the U.S. Population is a valuable tool for researchers and policy makers. J Nutr. Jun 2013;143(6):938s-47s. doi:10.3945/jn.112.172858
  4. Mascolo E, Vernì F. Vitamin B6 and Diabetes: Relationship and Molecular Mechanisms. Int J Mol Sci. May 23 2020;21(10)doi:10.3390/ijms21103669
  5. Wu W, Kang S, Zhang D. Association of vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and methionine with risk of breast cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. Oct 1 2013;109(7):1926-44. doi:10.1038/bjc.2013.438
  6. Minović I, Kieneker LM, Gansevoort RT, et al. Vitamin B6, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Outcome in a Population-Based Cohort: The Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease (PREVEND) Study. Nutrients. Sep 4 2020;12(9)doi:10.3390/nu12092711