Rickets Cases Rising, Kids Of Affluent Families Getting Afflicted: Delhi Hospital

The Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) in Delhi is receiving about 12 cases of rickets a month since last year, a rise of 300 per cent, and most of the patients are in the age group of 2-12 years, it said.

A private facility in Delhi has been reporting a rise in the number of cases of rickets since last year and children from affluent families too are getting afflicted by the disease, the hospital authorities said on Tuesday. The Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) in Delhi is receiving about 12 cases of rickets a month since last year, a rise of 300 per cent, and most of the patients are in the age group of 2-12 years, it said in a statement. Rickets is a skeletal disorder in children caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorous, resulting in bone pain, weak and soft bones and various skeletal deformities. "In the past one year, the hospital has received an average of 12 children a month complaining of bone and joint pains and leg deformities, and were diagnosed with rickets. Doctors emphasise that the vitamin D deficiency in these children is due to a prolonged indoor stay and a lack of sun exposure, leading to rickets in them, and rules out malnutrition as a reason," the statement said.