NEW DELHI New Delhi: Older people suffering from abnormal bleeding, fatigue and weakness should get tested for scurvy – a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency – a study on Monday suggested. Mobility problems and social isolation The study, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), detailing the case of a 65-year-old woman, shows that scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency, is not just a disease of 18th-century sailors.

Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada urged physicians to consider scurvy in patients with unusual bleeding and unexplained symptoms. The elderly patient went to the emergency department of a downtown Toronto hospital for leg pain and weakness, skin lesions and discoloration . He also had several chronic health problems. Mobility problems limited her ability to go grocery shopping, cook, and perform other daily activities. She lived mostly on canned soup and fish, with no fresh produce.

“This case represents a complex example of food insecurity manifesting as an unusual diagnosis,” said Dr. Sarah Engelhardt, a general internist at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto. Researchers found that vitamin C deficiency is more common than expected in the 21st century. However, its diagnosis is often challenging because symptoms are often vague, such as fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath.

The patient also smoked, which further contributed to vitamin C deficiency. Doctors said her symptoms improved after she started vitamin C treatment and blood tests for vitamin C deficiency eventually confirmed the diagnosis. “Physicians should be alert to vitamin C deficiency when assessing patients, including children and isolated elderly patients,” the doctors said. The team found that people who follow restrictive eating patterns (for example, those with autism spectrum disorders or live on a tea and toast diet), who smoke cigarettes, who have substance use disorders or who have malabsorption syndrome There may also be a risk of scurvy.