Vitamin tests cost Balearics €1 million as demand grows

In Palma, Mallorca, doctors are questioning a vitamin-testing bill that reached about €1 million across the Balearic Islands in 2025. Some 150,000 people requested the tests that year — roughly one in six islanders — according to the Balearic Islands Health Ministry. Specialist José Delgado presented the figures at a clinical meeting at Son Espases University Hospital in Palma.

Delgado said requests for tests of vitamin D, vitamin B12 and folate rose from 90,000 in 2021 to 150,000 in 2026. The ministry’s account separately puts the number of people who requested vitamin tests in 2025 at 150,000.

Delgado warned about misleading social media claims that vitamin shortages are widespread. He said there is no proven health benefit from routine vitamin testing across the general population. For healthy adults with no symptoms or risk factors, he recommends neither the tests nor regular vitamin supplements.

Nuria García, a family doctor in Esporles, Mallorca, said more patients now suspect a vitamin shortage when they feel tired. Doctors need to consider other medical factors, daily habits, medication and sleep quality first, she said.

Topics: Health · Palma · Inca · Esporles

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com