Vitamin K Deficiency Health Hazards

Vitamin K deficiency refers to a deficiency of a group of fat-soluble compounds. There are several vitamin K-dependent proteins involved in coagulation, bone development, and cardiovascular health. Vitamin K deficiency can contribute to significant bleeding, poor bone development, osteoporosis, and increased cardiovascular disease. Having one of the important vitamins, Siddha Spirituality of Swami Hardas Life System appeals to our valuable readers to know about vitamin K deficiency for well-being.

Vitamin K deficiency Symptoms

Vitamin K helps coagulate blood and helps maintain proper bone density. It also plays a significant role in the healthy development of the fetus. Few Common Symptoms indicating vitamin K deficiency are:

• Eye hemorrhages
• Nosebleed
• Gum bleeding
• Hematomas
• Hypercalciuria
• Ovarian hemorrhaging
• Liver cancer
• Heavy menstrual bleeding
• Anemia
• Gastrointestinal bleeding

Birth defects are also linked to a deficiency of vitamin K. Flat nasal bridges, shortened fingers, cupped ears, underdevelopment of midface, nose, and mouth, epicanthal folds, mental retardation, growth deficiency, learning disabilities, hypertelorism, neural tube defects, microcephaly, cardiac abnormalities are some birth defects linked to vitamin K deficiency.

Vitamin K is changed to its active form in the liver by the enzyme Vitamin K epoxide reductase. Activated vitamin K is then used to gamma carboxylate certain enzymes involved in coagulation: Factors II, VII, IX, X, and protein C and protein S. Inability to activate the clotting cascade via these factors leads to the bleeding symptoms mentioned above.

Vitamin K deficiency Causes and Risk factors

Adults

Although vitamin K deficiency is uncommon in adults, certain people are at increased risk if they take:

• Coumarin anticoagulants such as warfarin, which thins the blood
• Antibiotics
• In a condition that causes the body to not absorb fat properly i.e. fat malabsorption
• Consume a diet that is extremely lacking in vitamin K

Coumarin anticoagulants interfere with the production of the proteins involved in blood clotting. Some antibiotics cause the body to produce less of its own vitamin K. Other antibiotics may cause vitamin K to become less effective in the body.

Malabsorption

Fat malabsorption leading to vitamin K deficiency may occur in people with:

• Celiac disease
• Cystic fibrosis
• A disorder in the intestines or biliary tract e.g. liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts
• Part of intestine removed

Newborn infants

Newborn infants are at increased risk for vitamin K deficiency for a variety of reasons:

• Breast milk is very low in vitamin K
• Vitamin K does not transfer well from a mother’s placenta to her baby
• The liver of a newborn infant doesn’t use the vitamin efficiently
• Newborns don’t produce vitamin K2 on their own in the first few days of life

First, your doctor will need to know your medical history to understand if you’re at risk of becoming vitamin K deficient. People at risk are generally those who take:

• Anticoagulants
• Antibiotics, or
• Have a condition where fat absorption is a problem

Diagnosis

Your doctor will perform a coagulation test called the Prothrombin Time (PT) test to see if a vitamin K deficiency is causing your symptoms. This is a blood test that measures how long it takes for your blood to clot.

A nurse, lab technician, or another healthcare professional trained at drawing blood will take a sample using a small needle. They will then add chemicals to the sample to see how it reacts. Blood usually takes about 11 to 13.5 seconds to clot. If the blood takes longer to clot, your doctor may determine that you have vitamin K deficiency.

The lab may also look at the results in a different way, measuring the International Normalized Ratio (INR). INR is based on a scale that compares the results of different laboratories worldwide.

Treatment

The treatment for vitamin K is the drug phytonadione, which is vitamin K1. Most of the time doctors prescribe it as an oral medication. A doctor or nurse might also inject it under the skin. The dosage for adults ranges from 1 to 25 milligrams.

Doctors will prescribe a smaller phytonadione dose for someone who is taking an anticoagulant. Typically this dosage is about 1 to 10 mg. This is to avoid a complication due to anticoagulants interfering with the body’s vitamin K production.

In infants, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that newborns get a single shot of 0.5 to 1 mg vitamin K1 at birth. A higher dose may be necessary if the mother has been taking anticoagulants or anti-seizure drugs.

Recommended dosage

Below is the list indicating the recommended intake of vitamin K every day either in the form of food or supplements:

• Infants need an intake of 2-2.5 micrograms of vitamin K per day.
• Children can intake a quantity of 30-60 micrograms of vitamin K every day.
• Adults need an intake of 75-90 micrograms of vitamin K daily.
• Adult males (19 and older) can consume 120 micrograms of vitamin K a day.

Oral dosage of vitamin K is given to patients depending on the severity of the symptoms and diseases.

Vitamin K deficiency Health hazards

What happens if I don’t get enough vitamin K? Severe vitamin K deficiency can cause bruising and bleeding problems because the blood will take longer to clot. Vitamin K deficiency might reduce bone strength and increase the risk of getting osteoporosis because the body needs vitamin K for healthy bones.

Best food sources for Vitamin K deficiency

Vitamin K deficiency if left untreated can result in excessive blood loss leaving the patient in a dangerous condition. If the bleeding called intracranial hemorrhage occurs then the condition can lead to brain damage, or even death if left untreated. Try to keep away from the risk factors of this deficiency. Some of the risk factors include excessive breastfeeding, warm environments, pharmaceuticals, and liver disease.

To cure it in newborn babies vitamin K supplements must be immediately given to the infant. In extreme cases blood products containing coagulating properties, fresh frozen plasma might be required to be administered. If the baby has suffered a large portion of blood then in such a situation blood transfusion may also be necessary.

Maintaining a healthy diet can help to combat such deficiencies, try to include green leafy vegetables as much as possible, eat olive, soya bean, and cottonseed. Grain like buckwheat spelled and rye grain is rich in vitamin K. Dietary changes have shown some great results and doctors and dieticians also recommend it. List of certain types of food ingredients that can help to boost the amount of vitamin K in your body are listed below:

• Vegetables like spinach, asparagus, and broccoli
• Legumes like soybeans
• Eggs
• Strawberries
• Meat like liver

Prevention

Most people get enough vitamin K in their diet. The best source is dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, parsley, broccoli, kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and salad greens. Green beans, avocados, kiwifruit, vegetable oils, yoghurt, fermented food and drinks, and some cheeses are also good sources.

Epidemiology

The prevalence of vitamin K deficiency varies by geographic region. For infants in the United States, vitamin K₁ deficiency without bleeding may occur in as many as 50% of infants younger than 5 days old, with the classic hemorrhagic disease occurring in 0.25-1.7% of infants. Therefore, the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that 0.5 to 1.0 mg Vitamin K₁ be administered to all newborns shortly after birth.

Postmenopausal and elderly women in Thailand have a high risk of Vitamin K₂ deficiency, compared with the normal value of young, reproductive females. Current dosage recommendations for Vitamin K may be too low. The deposition of calcium in soft tissues, including arterial walls, is quite common, especially in those suffering from atherosclerosis, suggesting that Vitamin K deficiency is more common than previously thought.

Because colonic bacteria synthesize a significant portion of the Vitamin K required for human needs, individuals with disruptions to or insufficient amounts of these bacteria can be at risk for Vitamin K deficiency. Newborns, as mentioned above, fit into this category, as their colons are frequently not adequately colonized in the first five to seven days of life. Another at-risk population comprises those individuals on any sort of long-term antibiotic therapy, as this can diminish the population of normal gut flora.

Reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K_deficiency
• https://www.healthline.com/health/vitamin-k-deficiency#treatment
• https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/supplement-guide-vitamin-k#2
• https://www.ayurtimes.com/vitamin-k-deficiency-symptoms/
• https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/vitamin-k-deficiency
• https://carecover.in/what-is-vitamin-k-deficiency-and-its-symptoms/