The median (range) plasma BNP in beriberi infants (334 (0–2,465) pg/ml) was higher than in those without beriberi (7 (0–590) pg/ml) (OR 1.02 95%CI 1.00–1.05, P = 0.08; n = 31 matched sets providing 78 observations for analysis). Here, NPPB is linked to beriberi.