19th century disease returns to the scene and SCREAMS population of Scotland; know more

A Scotlandonce again faced a worrying increase in cases of a health condition which had been superseded since the 19th century.

In 2022, the country registered 442 people with rickets, which represents a significant increase of 25% in the index compared to 2018. The disease causes bone softening and deformity, in addition to muscle pain.

The country's health agencies point out that such a return is related to poverty and malnutrition. Indeed, most cases were diagnosed in poor and peripheral regions of the country.

Among them, Glasgow is one of those issuing the most worrying health warnings. Much of the poor live in this city, where 32% of children lived in poverty last year, according to the Glasgow Population Health Centre.

What is rickets?

It consists of a bone disease that mainly affects children in the development phase. It is usually associated with an extreme lack of

vitamin D and other important nutrients for the formation and strengthening of bones.

Thus, the individual ends up developing a fragile bone structure. The main symptoms of rickets are:

• Bone deformity;

• Muscle weakness;

• Leg pains;

• Muscle spasms.

(Image: publicity)

Reasons for the return of rickets in Europe

Considered a pathology of the 19th century, rickets was very present in the Victorian Era (1820-1914).

Poor living conditions, poor hygiene, limited exposure to sunlight and inadequate diets contributed to the prevalence of rickets at that time.

Already in the period, rickets was a condition linked to social inequality, very present especially in poor areas of European countries.

Now, experts realize that material scarcity is still one of the main factors of the disease. However, the contemporary era presents a new profile of people with rickets.

“In the past, I only saw elderly patients who had rickets in childhood and had leg deformities. But this started to change when Glasgow started to receive more migrants and asylum seekers”, he said, to the news portal The Herald, Lynsay Crawford, a doctor for 20 years in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, Possilpark.

Therefore, Crawford emphasizes the creation of the Diet and Healthy Weight Plan and that its main objective is to guarantee everyone access to healthy eating in Scotland.

But the increase in cases of rickets demonstrates that, in addition to health actions, it will be necessary to create policies to integrate this new population, reducing social inequality in the country.