Doctors warn that common reflux drug could trigger SCURVY – after Victorian disease strikes 50 year-old man

You may assume scurvy is a disease that died out in Victorian times. 

But according to recent reports, the condition is making a comeback, with cases rising by 25 per cent since 2007, said to be due to the increased reliance on junk food amid the cost of living crisis.

Now, experts have warned that it’s not just malnutrition that is behind the rise in the illness — which causes red patches on the skin and can be fatal if untreated. 

According to a recent report, a common reflux drug taken by millions of Brits can also trigger scurvy.

Writing in the journal British Medical Journal Case Reports, doctors at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Western Australia warned that proton pump inhibitors, (PPIs), such as omeprazole, could be a culprit. 

This is because these drugs reduce the production of acid in the stomach, which makes it harder for your body to absorb vitamin C.

In July, doctors reported the case of one man in his 50s who developed the condition after taking PPIs as well as eating a diet lacking in vitamin C — which is vital to prevent the disease. 

The first sign of the illness was a red-brown pinpoint rash that covered the man’s legs and spread to his hands and arms.

The case study details how doctors ran blood tests that ultimately revealed he had no vitamin C in his bloodstream. He also had very low levels of other key nutrients — another sign of scurvy.

He was given daily vitamin C (1000 mg), vitamin D3, folic acid, and multivitamin supplements, which helped his painful rash disappear. Vitamin c levels soon returned to normal.

Doctors discovered that in addition to taking PPIs he had not been eating fruit and vegetables and even skipped meals.

It was also revealed that he had recently undergone a bariatric weight loss surgery and could not afford to continue to buy the nutritional supplements he had been prescribed.

Weight loss surgery — which involves making the stomach smaller so it feels fuller quicker — can make it harder for your gut to absorb vitamins and minerals from food, risking malnourishment, the NHS warns. 

But patients are usually given a strict diet to follow and given vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent this from happening. 

The report highlights several risk factors for scurvy in the modern day such as lack of access to good quality nutritious food, eating disorders, low household income, obesity, alcoholism, smoking, kidney dialysis. 

The case study authors wrote: ‘Our patient had multiple risk factors, namely, poor dietary habits, obesity, previous bariatric surgery, use of proton pump inhibitors and low-income status. His history of iron, vitamin D and folate deficiencies were also clues to his underlying nutritional deficiency.’ 

It’s estimated that around 15 per cent of adults in England take a proton pump inhibitor to treat conditions like acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Scurvy and other conditions caused by malnutrition are also on the rise across the UK. 

Doctors previously warned in the BMJ that there is a resurgence in scurvy as Brits are not eating enough fruit and vegetables. 

In 2022, there were more than 800,000 admissions in England and Wales with conditions linked to poor nutrition, including scurvy and rickets. 

Nearly 11,000 people in England — including hundreds of children— were hospitalised with malnutrition in 2022. 

Data from NHS England shows admissions due to the serious condition have risen four-fold over the last 15 years and doubled in a decade.

Medics have claimed that the cost-of-living crisis is to blame.

Brits facing the pinch have been forced to cut back on fruit and vegetables and eat cheaper junk food, which lacks vital vitamins and minerals.

A Freedom of Information request from The Times Health Commission last year revealed that 10,896 NHS patients in England were hospitalised with malnutrition in the year to April 2023.

Malnutrition occurs when a diet does not include the right amount of nutrients, with unintentional weight loss, a low body weight and feeling tired and weak being key signs.

The statistics also revealed 171 people were treated with scurvy and 482 for rickets, with 405 of these patients being children.

Scurvy is caused by not consuming enough vitamin C, which is found in citrus fruit, broccoli and potatoes. 

Typical symptoms include feeling tired, weak and irritable, severe joint or leg pain and swollen and bleeding gums.

Adults aged 19 to 64 need 40mg of vitamin C a day — about the amount in one orange —  to help maintain healthy skin, bones and blood vessels.