Vitamin B6 levels in children after kidney transplants
What it found
None of the 10 children who had kidney transplants showed low vitamin B6 levels in their blood.
Two children had higher than expected amounts.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood levels of vitamin B6
The middle value for blood PLP was 62.45 nmol/L. None of the 10 children had levels below the normal range.
High vitamin B6 readings
Two out of the 10 children, or 20%, had blood PLP levels above the normal range. In adults with transplants, high levels have been linked to taking in too much.
Vitamin B6 from food
On average, the children took in about 138.7% of the recommended amount of vitamin B6 from food. The authors say these intakes were not excessive.
No vitamin B6 supplements
None of the children were taking extra vitamin B6 as a supplement.
What the authors conclude
- They found no signs of vitamin B6 deficiency in this group of children, though 20% had raised blood levels.
- They note that dietary intakes were not excessive and no children took supplements.
- They call for more research into how vitamin B6 is processed in children with kidney transplants.
How it was done
Scientists wanted to check how much vitamin B6 these children were getting and what their blood levels looked like. No previous work had measured this in children with kidney transplants.
Researchers followed 10 children who had received kidney transplants, with an average age of 11.9 years. They checked what the children ate and measured a form of vitamin B6 called PLP in their blood.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This study only followed 10 children, so it cannot show what happens in all children with kidney transplants.
- Because researchers only observed the children rather than testing a change, they cannot prove what caused the high vitamin B6 levels in two of them.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK; University of Southampton, UK
The paper
- Title
- Vitamin B6 in Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipients
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Harmer M, Wootton S, Gilbert R, Anderson C (2019). Vitamin B6 in Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipients. Journal of renal nutrition. doi:10.1053/j.jrn.2018.09.003PubMed 30424951DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error