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Silent Disease: Young Brits Collapsing from Vitamin D Lack
30 Oct
Summary
- Young women and girls in the UK show increasing rates of vitamin D deficiency.
- Symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, and bone pain, often missed by doctors.
- Experts warn of lifelong health impacts across multiple generations if unaddressed.
Increasing rates of vitamin D deficiency are affecting young people in the UK, with nearly a quarter of 11- to 18-year-olds classified as deficient last year. This deficiency, often called the silent disease, can lead to serious symptoms such as collapse, fatigue, and bone pain, which can be easily missed or misdiagnosed by healthcare professionals.
Experts warn that the long-term consequences can be severe, potentially causing a lifelong deficit that impacts multiple generations. Cases like Saskia Reeves-Priestley's collapse at work and Amaka's experience in Liverpool underscore the urgent need for greater awareness and intervention.
Clinicians and academics are advocating for policy changes, including raising the threshold for classifying deficiency and implementing wider food fortification, similar to practices in Canada and Sweden. Currently, fortification in the UK is voluntary, and doctors do not routinely offer blood tests for vitamin D.
Addressing this issue is critical to prevent conditions like osteomalacia in adults and rickets in infants, ensuring better bone health across the population.
