Rickets

Cases of rickets have been traced as far back as the 1600's. However, it was only in the 1930s that the cause for rickets was discovered. There was a direct link between vitamin D deficiency and the development of rickets.

Rickets is a condition where the bones get weakened and soft due to a prolonged deficiency of calcium and vitamin D in the body. If there is not enough vitamin D in the body, the amount of calcium and phosphorus absorbed by the bones is severely reduced and this leads to rickets.

Thanks to public health initiatives encouraging the addition of vitamin D and calcium to a child's diet, there has been a near eradication of rickets in most developed nations.

Alternative Names: Osteomalacia in children; Deficiency - vitamin D; Renal osteodystrophy; Pediatric osteomalacia; renal rickets

Living

Types