Assessment of Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels According to Gender in Psychiatric Patients in Şırnak Region

The most severe and prevalent type of neuropsychiatric condition affecting millions of people globally is major depressive disorder. The aim of our study is to evaluate the folate and vitamin B12 levels of outpatient psychiatric patients in Şırnak province, according to gender. The patients who applied to the Psychiatric Services of the state hospitals in the Şırnak region between January 1, 2021, and January 5, 2022, were found by conducting a retrospective search of the hospital databases for folate and vitamin B12 levels. Device reference ranges between 200-771 pg/mL were accepted for the evaluation of vitamin B12 levels and 4.6-18.7 ng/mL for the evaluation of folate levels. 9.6% of the males and 13.7% of the women who applied to the psychiatry service in Şırnak during the study period had B12 levels below 200 pg/mL, whereas 86.5% of the men and 84.3% of the women had B12 levels between 200 and 771 pg/mL. It was found that 3.8% of men and 2% of women were above 771 pg/mL. It was found that there was no significant difference in the statistical analysis results according to gender (P>0.05). In folate levels, 56.3% of male patients and 42.9% of females had folate levels below 4.6 ng/mL, while 43.7% of men and 50% of women had folate levels between 4.6-18.7 ng/mL. It was observed that there was no statistically significant difference in the folate levels of the patients according to gender (P>0.05). In our study, we did not find any evidence that the rate of vitamin B12 deficiency differs according to gender in psychiatric patients. Although Folate level was not statistically significant according to gender, it was found to be significant as a percentage. Eating habits can be linked to depression by changing serum folate and vitamin B12 levels depending on gender.