Rapid Fire
PRIYA Trial on Vitamin B12
- 09 Feb 2026
- 2 min read
The follow-up findings of the Pune Rural Intervention in Young Adolescents (PRIYA) trial indicate that vitamin B12 supplementation during adolescence improves neonatal health through epigenetic mechanisms.
- Conducted between 2012 and 2020 within the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study (PMNS), the PRIYA trial assessed whether enhancing vitamin B12 status in adolescents could lower intergenerational metabolic risks in a population with widespread deficiency.
- The study found that adolescent vitamin B12 supplementation significantly improved neonatal ponderal index (weight relative to height), reflecting better foetal growth and early-life nutritional outcomes.
- These results reinforce policy recommendations to include physiological doses of vitamin B12 in iron–folic acid supplementation programmes for adolescents and women of reproductive age to strengthen long-term population health and human capital.
Vitamin B12
- Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin that the human body cannot synthesise; it is produced by microorganisms and obtained mainly from animal-based foods.
- It is essential for red blood cell formation, DNA synthesis, and the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system.
- Vitamin B12 deficiency is highly prevalent in India, particularly due to inadequate dietary intake.
- The deficiency can lead to anaemia and neurological disorders, caused mainly by poor nutrition and, in fewer cases, by impaired absorption due to intrinsic factor deficiency.
| Read More: Lancet Study on Micronutrient Inadequacies |
