Rickets is a bone disease that occurs especially in infants and young children. The growing bones fail to develop fully due to dificency or impaired metabolism of mainly vitamin D but also phosphorous and calcuium. Vitamin D is essential for all individuals in order to absorb calcium and phosphorus from the intestines. the four main subtypes of rickets are Nutritional, Vitamin D Resistant, Vitamin D Dependant, and Congenita. the most common one is Nutritional rickets, which is caused by a dietary deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, or all three. Vitamin D Resistant Rickets, is a genetic condition caused by a defect in the kidneys. Children with this condition produce too much phosphate, which makes it difficult for bones to harden. Vitamin D Dependant Rickets are broken down into two types. Type I where the mutation of a specific gene makes the body not able to convert a substance called calcifediol into calcitriol. Type II which is caused by a mutation that makes some of the body's cells not able to recognize calcitriol. Lastly there are Cogenita Rickets, which a baby is born with the disorder because of the mother having a vitamin D deficiency.
Cause
The main cause of developing rickets is due to the lack of vitamin D in the diet, which is needed for your body to absorb calcium and phosphrous. not allowing your skin to have enough expousre from the sun may also result in the developement of rickets. Skin colour also plays a factor as one of the causes this disease. Skin pigment in children with naturally dark skin tends to absord less sunlight than someone with fair skin. Exclusively breastfeeding a child during its early years may also lead to this disease because human breast milk does not contain enough vitamin D for a child that is growing