Evidence brief · Supplement
Thiamine (B1) for Deficiency syndromes
Evidence grade A — Beriberi, Wernicke's
- Overall grade
- Grade A
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.
1 at grade A — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Deficiency syndromesEvidence grade A
Beriberi, Wernicke's
Largehigh
The evidence in words
The verdict
For deficiency syndromes, Thiamine (B1) earns evidence grade A (large effect, high consistency) — there is real evidence here. Beriberi, Wernicke's
How it might work
As thiamine pyrophosphate it is a cofactor for pyruvate dehydrogenase and transketolase — nodes where carbohydrate metabolism feeds the energy and pentose-phosphate pathways. Nervous tissue, heavily glucose-dependent, fails first when it runs out.
How to use it
Requirement is ~1–1.5 mg/day. At-risk groups (heavy drinkers, post-bariatric) use higher oral doses or, in acute deficiency, parenteral thiamine under care.
Safety & cautions
Very safe; excess is excreted. The risk is missing deficiency, not the supplement.
Bottom line
A quiet essential with a dramatic deficiency. Most people get enough; heavy drinkers, the malnourished, and bariatric-surgery patients should supplement — and acute deficiency is an ER matter, not a capsule.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- At-risk
- Higher oral doses in alcohol-use disorder / post-bariatric; parenteral for acute deficiency.
Goes with
- Thiamine (B1)Read the full Thiamine (B1) monographEvidence grade B
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Thiamine (B1) for Diabetic neuropathy (benfotiamine)Evidence grade B — Modest symptom reliefEvidence grade B
- Thiamine (B1): dosage and how to take itHigher oral doses in alcohol-use disorder / post-bariatric; parenteral for acute deficiency.Evidence grade B
- Thiamine (B1): side effects, safety & interactionsVery safe; excess is excreted. The risk is missing deficiency, not the supplement.Evidence grade B
- Iodine for Deficiency disorders / fetal cognitionEvidence grade A — Especially pregnancyEvidence grade A
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.