Vitamin D and Nutritional Rickets

RICKETS For Scientific Principles and Health and Disease By: Mackenzie Gray 112-69-7540 April 7, 2010 Rickets is a disease that deals with a deficiency with Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important by controlling calcium and phosphate levels. If the blood levels of these minerals become too low, the body may produce hormones that cause calcium and phosphate to be released from the bones eventually this leads to weak and soft bones. (2) Throughout this paper we will go over a variety of characteristics involving the disease of Rickets, these includes things such as: causes of disease, risk factors, significance statistics of Rickets, diagnosis, treatment, disease changes and comorbidity/comortality. The main cause of Rickets by far is a deficiency during childhood of Vitamin D; however, not getting enough calcium and phosphorous in your diet can also lead to rickets. Rickets caused by a lack of these vitamins and minerals in diet is rare in developed countries, such as the United States, because calcium and phosphorous are found in milk and green vegetables. (1) In rickets, another mechanism in the body works to increase the blood calcium level. The parathyroid gland may increase its functioning rate to compensate for decreased levels of calcium in the bloodstream. To increase the level of calcium in the blood the hormone destroys the calcium present in the bones of the body and results in further loss of calcium and phosphorous from the bones. (3) In severe cases, cysts may develop in the bones. Vitamin D deficiency could be caused due to numerous reasons. A risk factor can be defined as a characteristic, condition, or behavior, such as high blood pressure or smoking, which increases the possibility of disease or injury. Rickets usually occurs within children especially in the African American race. Therefore, risk factors for Rickets include things such as: race, age (children 6-24 months), breast-feeding problems with mother, lactose

References: 1) http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/special/bone/902.html 2) http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Pre-Sma/Rickets.html 3) http://www.utdol.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~6iuBwXfMQ7fQa8 4) http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/412862-overview eys