A university student took her own life after developing delusional beliefs stemming from a vitamin B12 deficiency caused by her vegan diet, an inquest concluded.
Georgina Owen, 21 and of Saffron Walden in Essex, began a vegan diet in 2016 due to "her environmental concerns".
Cambridgeshire area coroner Elizabeth Gray noted by August 2019, Ms Owen's family realised she had not taken her B12 supplements for at least six months, which the student said she had forgotten.
She was due to return to Swansea University on 19 September 2019, but was found at her home with a note. She was resuscitated and taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, but died on 21 September.
Ms Gray said in a written inquest on Monday that Ms Owen had “reported to her family that she had bought an organic B12 supplement from Canada, the dosage of which would be 1mg once per day, oral spray”.
“Ms Owen’s family report that Ms Owen had demonstrated unusual, erratic behaviour in the period leading up to her death, and they provided diaries written by Ms Owen which they suggest demonstrates her erratic behaviour and a deterioration in her mental health in the immediate period before her death,” she said.
The coroner said that a psychiatrist concluded Ms Owen’s diary entries viewed on their own do not provide evidence that she was planning to end her life.
But the psychiatrist said that her final note “does provide evidence of a possible mental illness and that on the balance of probabilities, at the time Ms Owen was writing this last note, she was experiencing delusions” and that “psychiatric manifestations caused by vitamin B12 deficiency are recognised”.
Blood tests were found to be “consistent with vitamin B12 deficiency and that this likely resulted from Ms Owen’s vegan diet of around three years duration”, the coroner said.
In her conclusion, the coroner said: “Ms Owen died ... whilst on the balance of probabilities suffering delusional beliefs brought about by a vitamin B12 deficiency developed as a direct result of her vegan diet.”
She said that an expert report “concludes that Ms Owen’s vague signs of cognitive impairment, anxiety, difficulty with simple decision making and fatigue as described by her family in the period before her death suggest a gradually developing psychiatric disorder culminating in the delusional beliefs expressed in Miss Owen’s final letter”.
She said Ms Owen, who started studying geography at Swansea University in the academic year 2017-2018, was described by the university as “vibrant, full of enthusiasm, passionate and well-liked by her peers and lecturers”.
She had been due to return to university on 19 September 2019, being driven there by her mother, and “had made plans to go surfing over the weekend”.
Vitamin B12 is found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and specially fortified foods.
The NHS website advises that a deficiency can lead to problems including psychological problems, which can range from mild depression or anxiety to confusion and dementia, as well as extreme tiredness, muscle weakness and problems with vision and memory.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
