Rickets make a comeback | Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (2024)

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Rickets make a comeback | Centre for Crime and Justice Studies? ›

Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, has said that the country should be 'profoundly ashamed' that the Victorian-era disease rickets has made a comeback in a damning report on the state of children's health, reported in The Independent.

However only 10 per cent of our vitamin D comes from diet: exposure to sunlight is the body's most effective way of absorbing the vitamin, and a lack of sunshine is thought to be behind the modern incarnation of rickets.

Rickets is a deficiency disease caused by a lack of calcium or vitamin D. In the Victorian era it was widespread in low socio-economic areas of Great Britain, and it wasn't until the early 1900s that researchers discovered how important sunlight and Vitamin D are in the development of bones.

In 2022, 423 patients were admitted to English hospitals with rickets, a disease caused by lack of sunlight and inadequate levels of vitamin D. The same year, 188 people were treated for scurvy, a condition caused by not eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables, leading to a deficiency in vitamin C.

Rickets is a bone disease that affects infants and young children. The child's growing bones fail to develop properly due to a lack of vitamin D. This can result in soft and weakened bones, fractures, bone and muscle pain, and bony deformities.

Insufficient dietary calcium is a likely and important contributing cause of nutritional rickets in the United States. The combined interaction of suboptimal vitamin D status and limited calcium intake may lead to impaired bone mineralization that results in nutritional rickets.

Rickets is a condition that affects bone development in children. It causes bone pain, poor growth and soft, weak bones that can lead to bone deformities. Adults can experience a similar condition, which is known as osteomalacia or soft bones.

The most common cause of rickets is a vitamin D deficiency, although hereditary genetic forms also exist. This can result from eating a diet without enough vitamin D, dark skin, too little sun exposure, exclusive breastfeeding without vitamin D supplementation, celiac disease, and certain genetic conditions.

Takeaway. Most people in the U.S. do not have a deficiency in vitamin C, also known as scurvy. However, it still exists in areas of the country or parts of the world with less access to fresh fruit and vegetables. The symptoms of scurvy include anemia, fatigue, pain in the legs, swelling, and more.

Did pirates get scurvy often? ›

Speaking of diet, while it may be fun to talk like a pirate today, it is not a good idea to eat like one. Pirates often suffered from scurvy, a medical condition resulting from a lack of vitamin C in their diets. Vitamin C is necessary for collagen production and iron absorption.

But because celery is high in fibre (read as: prebiotics), vitamin K (29%/serving) and has a decent amount of vitamin C (4%; not ideal, but great if you're in a place where high vitamin C foods aren't as available), this humble vegetable was super helpful in preventing a number of health conditions such as scurvy and ...

A number of factors decrease the amount of vitamin D a person can make, and therefore contribute to the risk of developing nutritional rickets: Lack of sun exposure. Our skin makes Vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight. Not enough enough sun exposure means not enough Vitamin D.

Rickets was common in the past, but it mostly disappeared in the western world during the early 20th century after foods like margarine and cereal were fortified with vitamin D. However, in recent years, there's been an increase in cases of rickets in the UK.

The reemergence of rickets has coincided with the resurgence of breastfeeding. The promotion of breastfeeding without emphasizing the need for vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of rickets has led to the resurgence of this nutritional disorder in a vulnerable pouplation.

Genetic factors

These may be hereditary. Hypophosphatemic rickets, for example, is a rare condition in which the kidneys are unable to process phosphate properly. Low levels of phosphate in the blood lead to weak and soft bones. The most common type affects around 1 in 20,000 newborns.