INFANTILE SCURVY AND NUTRITIONAL RICKETS IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

During the summer of 1960, the Committee on Nutrition of the Canadian Pediatric Society requested co-operation of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics in evaluation of the problem of scurvy in Canada. Reports in the Canadian literature in 1958 and 19591-6 recorded occurrence of 180 cases of scurvy during the 15 years from 1945 through 1959, and personal communications accounted for 142 cases not recorded in the literature. It was somewhat difficult to derive a satisfactory estimate of the true incidence of scurvy from these figures. However, an unpublished report by Dr. J. W. Davies, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Newfoundland, indicated that 77 cases of scurvy had been diagnosed in 1959 for an estimated 30,000 children less than 2 years of age, an incidence of 2.5 cases per 1,000 children. As an aid in evaluation of the problem of scurvy in Canada and to obtain information concerning the magnitude of the problem in the United States, a survey was carried out concerning incidence of scurvy in the United States during the years 1956 through 1960, inclusive. Questionnaires concerning the incidence of scurvy and rickets among children admitted to the hospital were mailed to 294 hospitals that maintain approved7 residency programs in pediatrics. Replies were received from 176 of the 294 hospitals (60%). Preliminary tabulation and analysis of results were then carried out, and a brief summary was mailed to each hospital. At the time of this mailing a second questionnaire was sent to those hospitals that had not responded to the initial questionnaire.