Vitamin C deficiency

Scurvy is a disease due to deficiency of ascorbic acid - vitamin C - and is characterised by anaemia, spongy gums, a tendency to mucocutaneous haemorrhages, and brawny induration of calf and leg muscles.

For infants, adequate amounts of vitamin C are present in:

• breast milk - unless the mother has subclinical avitaminosis C
• most proprietary infant milk formulae

Inadequate amounts of vitamin C are found in:

• cow's milk
• all boiled, dried, or evaporated milks

Smokers and people on low-income are among those at increased risk of deficiency (1) with other at-risk populations including older people, and individuals with underlying medical or psychiatric conditions. (2)

References

1. Schleicher RL, Carroll MD, Ford ES, et al. Serum vitamin C and the prevalence of vitamin C deficiency in the United States: 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Nov;90(5):1252-63.
2. Velandia B, Centor RM, McConnell V, et al. Scurvy is still present in developed countries. J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Aug;23(8):1281-4.