Vitamin B12 supplementation for growth, development, and cognition in children.

What It Covers

This meta-analysis looks at Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12).

However, no systematic reviews have been conducted to examine the effects of vitamin B12 supplementation in children.

To determine the effects of vitamin B12 supplementation on growth, development, and cognition in children less than 12 years of age.

The researchers used Cochrane RoB 2 to evaluate bias.

Why It Was Studied

The researchers included randomised controlled trials evaluating the effects of oral vitamin B12 supplementation, alone or in combination with other micronutrients, in children < 12 years of age.

The researchers excluded cross-over trials, trials targeting pregnant or breastfeeding women, or participants with critical illnesses, and interventions delivered by intravenous/intramuscular injections.

Who the Included Studies Covered

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were infants, young children and children.

How the Review Was Done

The researchers searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, 12 other databases, and two trial registries on 23 September 2025.

The researchers screened reference lists of studies.

The researchers conducted meta-analyses using fixed-effect models.

If there was substantial heterogeneity, the researchers used random-effect models.

When meta-analyses were not conducted, the researchers described findings from individual trials, and considered synthesis and presentation of findings using other methods.

What Was Measured

The researchers included randomised controlled trials evaluating the effects of oral vitamin B12 supplementation, alone or in combination with other micronutrients, in children < 12 years of age.

Follow-up periods for outcomes in most studies ranged from five weeks to 31 months, with one study extending follow-up to nine years.

The subject headings attached to it are Child Development, Cognition, Dietary Supplements, Growth, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Vitamin B 12 and Vitamin B 12 Deficiency.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a meta-analysis of Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12).

Its findings take up roughly 21 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2026 (The Cochrane database of systematic reviews), a journal based in England.

More context: the Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) compound page, all human trials.