Not to be confused with rickettsia or osteogenesis imperfecta.
For the surname, see Ricketts.
Medical condition
Rickets
X-ray of a two-year-old with rickets, with a marked bowing of the femurs and decreased bone density
Pronunciation
/ˈrɪkɪts/
Specialty
Pediatrics, rheumatology, dietetics
Symptoms
Bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, trouble sleeping[1][2][3]
Complications
Bone fractures, muscle spasms, abnormally curved spine, intellectual disability[3]
Usual onset
Childhood[3]
Causes
Diet without enough vitamin D or calcium, too little sun exposure, exclusive breastfeeding without supplementation, celiac disease, certain genetic conditions[2][3][4]
Vitamin D supplements for exclusively-breastfed babies[5]
Treatment
Vitamin D and calcium[2]
Frequency
Relatively common (Middle East, Africa, Asia)[4]
Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (gre. ῥαχίτης,[6] meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children, and is caused by either dietary deficiency or genetic causes.[2] Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping.[2][3] Complications may include bone deformities, bone pseudofractures and fractures, muscle spasms, or an abnormally curved spine.[2][3]
The most common cause of rickets is a vitamin D deficiency, although hereditary genetic forms also exist.[2] This can result from eating a diet without enough vitamin D, dark skin, too little sun exposure, exclusive breastfeeding without vitamin D supplementation, celiac disease, and certain genetic conditions.[2][3] Other factors may include not enough calcium or phosphorus.[4][5] The underlying mechanism involves insufficient calcification of the growth plate.[7] Diagnosis is generally based on blood tests finding a low calcium, low phosphorus, and a high alkaline phosphatase together with X-rays.[2]
Prevention for exclusively breastfed babies is vitamin D supplements.[5] Otherwise, treatment depends on the underlying cause.[2] If due to a lack of vitamin D, treatment is usually with vitamin D and calcium.[2] This generally results in improvements within a few weeks.[2] Bone deformities may also improve over time.[5] Occasionally surgery may be performed to correct bone deformities.[8][3] Genetic forms of the disease typically require specialized treatment.[5]
Rickets occurs relatively commonly in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.[4] It is generally uncommon in the United States and Europe, except among certain minority groups.[3][4] It begins in childhood, typically between the ages of 3 and 18 months old.[3][4] Rates of disease are equal in males and females.[3] Cases of what is believed to have been rickets have been described since the 1st century,[9] and the condition was widespread in the Roman Empire.[10] The disease was common into the 20th century.[9] Early treatments included the use of cod liver oil.[9]
^ abcdefghijklm"Rickets". Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) – an NCATS Program. 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^ abcdefghijkl"Rickets, Vitamin D Deficiency". NORD (National Organization for Rare Disorders). 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^ abcdefCreo AL, Thacher TD, Pettifor JM, Strand MA, Fischer PR (May 2017). "Nutritional rickets around the world: an update". Paediatrics and International Child Health. 37 (2): 84–98. doi:10.1080/20469047.2016.1248170. PMID 27922335. S2CID 6146424.
^ abcde"Rickets - OrthoInfo - AAOS". September 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Florin T, Ludwig S, Aronson PL, Werner HC (2011). Netter's Pediatrics E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 430. ISBN 978-1455710645.
^El-Sobky TA, Samir S, Baraka MM, Fayyad TA, Mahran MA, Aly AS, et al. (January 2020). "Growth Modulation for Knee Coronal Plane Deformities in Children With Nutritional Rickets: A Prospective Series With Treatment Algorithm". Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global Research & Reviews. 4 (1): e19.00009. doi:10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-19-00009. PMC 7028784. PMID 32159063.
^ abcRajakumar K (August 2003). "Vitamin D, cod-liver oil, sunlight, and rickets: a historical perspective". Pediatrics. 112 (2): e132–e135. doi:10.1542/peds.112.2.e132. PMID 12897318.
^Brown M (19 August 2018). "Evidence in the bones reveals rickets in Roman times". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (gre. ῥαχίτης, meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children...
bones (fibula and tibia) is involved. If a child is sickly, either with rickets or any other ailment that prevents ossification of the bones or is improperly...
children with rickets (the childhood form of osteomalacia). Vitamin D supplements are given to treat or to prevent osteomalacia and rickets. The evidence...
worsen with age, particularly when it is the result of a disease, such as rickets. Idiopathic genu valgum is a form that is either congenital or has no known...
impairs bone mineralization, leading to bone-softening diseases, such as rickets in children. It can also worsen osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults...
1097/00005792-194305000-00002. Lucas RC (1833). "Form of late rickets associated with albuminuria, rickets of adolescents". The Lancet. 1 (3119): 993–994. doi:10...
hypophosphatemic rickets (ADHR) is a rare hereditary disease in which excessive loss of phosphate in the urine leads to poorly formed bones (rickets), bone pain...
John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nebraska since 2023...
David Ricketts may refer to: Dave Ricketts (1935-2008), American baseball player David Ricketts (cyclist) (1920–1996), British cyclist David Ricketts (musician)...
causes inadequate bone mineralization. Osteomalacia in children is known as rickets, and because of this, use of the term "osteomalacia" is often restricted...
identified through counting cases of rickets. The old theory was that if someone had enough vitamin D to prevent rickets and osteomalacia, two skeletal disorders...
given to children[where?] because vitamin D had been shown to prevent rickets, a consequence of vitamin D deficiency. Cod liver oil has traditionally...
its increased activity, resulting in autosomal dominant hypophosphatemic rickets. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a protein which in humans is encoded...
back into place. Any condition that affects bone growth, most notably rickets (from vitamin D deficiency), marasmus, syphilis, or thalassemia, can cause...
The prominent knobs of bone at the costochondral joints of rickets patients are known as a rachitic rosary or beading of the ribs. The knobs create the...
and smallpox, any one of which was then potentially fatal. He also had rickets, which left him unable to walk unaided until he was four and compelled...
unfit for military service and suffered from medical problems such as rickets and other poverty-related illnesses. That came at a time of increasing...
near Ripon, North Yorkshire, formerly believed effective for treating rickets. Glasgow Fire Brigade also named their fireboat St. Mungo, which served...
the same university in 2008. Her doctoral thesis investigated inherited rickets in Corriedale sheep. Dittmer then joined the faculty of Massey, rising...
rates of Vitamin D deficiency (defined as 25‐OH vitamin D < 30 nmol/L) or rickets. Term infants typically do not need iron supplementation. Delaying clamping...
consequence of vitamin D deficiency, they are at a higher risk of developing rickets, numerous types of cancers, and possibly cardiovascular disease and low...
biochemist and nutritionist who discovered vitamin D and its role in preventing rickets in 1919. Mellanby was born in West Hartlepool, the son of a shipyard owner...
disorders can mimic the clinical and X-ray picture of scurvy such as: Rickets Osteochondrodysplasias especially osteogenesis imperfecta Blount's disease...
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