A coroner has ruled that the death of a young woman was linked to delusional beliefs caused by a severe lack of vitamin B12. The vitamin is mostly found in animal-based foods, which made her vegan diet an important part of the inquest.
The case centered on Georgina Owen, a university student from Cambridgeshire, England. The coroner found that her diet had played a direct role in the deficiency, which was then linked to a sharp decline in her mental health before her death.
For people who eat meat and other animal products, a B12 deficiency is less common and can point to a deeper health issue. For vegans, the risk is usually managed through fortified foods or supplements.
Owen, who studied at Swansea University, had previously taken B12 supplements but stopped in the period before her death in 2019. That change became a key detail during the inquest into what happened.
Her family described the 21-year-old as vibrant and full of enthusiasm. But in September 2019, just a month after relatives noticed she had stopped taking her B12 supplements, she took her own life.
The nutrient is most often found in foods such as meat, dairy, eggs, and shellfish. B12 helps the body make red blood cells and supports DNA synthesis, so a long-term deficiency can affect both physical and mental health.
Owen told her worried family that she had begun using a B12 spray bought online from Canada. But her post-mortem report still found that she had a deficiency, the Daily Mail reports.
Coroner Elizabeth Gray noted that Owen had shown unusually erratic behavior before her death. Her personal writing also showed a deterioration in her mental health, which was linked during the inquest to the vitamin deficiency.
“Miss Owen was meditating frequently, and that she had reported to her family a recent meditation event where she had experienced an out of body experience which she had found to be very distressing.”
Her family had already arranged emotional support after becoming concerned about her mental health. Owen was also expected to return to university within weeks, and she had made plans to go surfing that weekend.
During the inquest, three experts examined whether a B12 deficiency could explain the major change in her mental state, which was described in court as psychosis. Blood tests confirmed that she was lacking the vitamin.
The inquest heard that Owen had shown vague signs of cognitive impairment, anxiety, trouble making simple decisions, and fatigue. Those symptoms were said to reflect a gradually developing psychiatric disorder that ended in delusional beliefs.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
