University of Swansea student Georgina Owen, 21, was found dead in September 2019 after a month of worsening mental health. A coroner’s inquest concuded that a prolonged vitamin B12 deficiency, tied to her plant‑based diet , likely triggered delusional episodes that preceded her suicide. The case highlights the medical risks of inadequate nutrient supplementation for vegans.

Coroner Links Delusions Directly to B12 Deficiency

Elizabeth Gray, the area coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, recorded that post‑mortem blood tests confirmed Owen’s B12 deficiency and that her erratic behaviour matched known psychiatric effects of the shortage. she noted that the evidence “on the balance of probabilities” showed the deficiency stemmed from Owen’s vegan diet, which lacked fortified foods or regular supplements.

Family Reports Missed Supplements for Over Six Months

Owen’s relatives told the court that she had stopped taking her prescribed B12 tablets sometime in early 2019, a lapse that lasted at least half a year before her death. Although she later bought an “organic” methyl‑cobalamin spray from Canada, the coroner heard that the product did not correct the deficiency evident in her blood work.

Psychological Decline Documented in Diaries and Mediation Sessions

Diary entries presented at the hearing revealed a gradual deterioration: anxiety, fatigue, difficulty making simple decisions,and vivid delusional thoughts about the state of the world.. Owen’s frequent meditation sessions culminated in a distressing out‑of‑body experience,which her family described as “unusually erratic behaviour.” According to the coroner’s report, these symptoms align with the cognitive impairment associated with severe B12 shortage.

Vegan Nutrition Guidelines Missed by a Student Activist

Health experts consulted during the inquest stressed that vegans must obtain B12 from fortified foods or reliable supplements, as the nutrient is naturally scarce in plant‑only diets.... The case underscores a broader public‑health concern: young adults adotping veganism for environmental reasons may overlook essential supplementation, risking both physical and mental health consequences.

Unanswered Questions About Supplement Quality and Access

The inquest did not establish whether the Canadian spray Owen purchased met UK safety standards, nor did it explore why her university’s health services did not intervene earlier. As the coroner noted, “the investigation was limited to assessing deficiency, not the broader systemic factors that may have contributed.”