Which one among the following diseases is caused due to deficiency of Vitamin D in humans?
- (a)Beriberi
- (b)Scurvy
- (c)Rickets
- (d)Pneumonia
Correct — C, Rickets. Rickets is caused by a deficiency of Vitamin D (with the associated calcium/phosphate), which impairs bone mineralisation in children and leads to soft, weak and bowed bones (the adult equivalent is osteomalacia). So Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets.
- (a)Beriberi — Beriberi is caused by deficiency of Vitamin B1 (thiamine) and affects the nerves and heart — not Vitamin D.
- (b)Scurvy — Scurvy is caused by deficiency of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), causing bleeding gums and poor wound healing — not Vitamin D.
- (d)Pneumonia — Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs (by bacteria, viruses or fungi), not a vitamin-deficiency disease at all.
Fat-soluble Vitamin D (made in skin from sunlight and obtained from foods like fatty fish, egg yolk and fortified milk) lets the body absorb calcium and phosphate and deposit them in bone. Without it, growing bones fail to harden — producing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
Match each disease to its missing nutrient. Rickets pairs with Vitamin D, scurvy with Vitamin C, beriberi with Vitamin B1; pneumonia is the odd one out because it is an infection, not a deficiency disease. Only rickets pairs with Vitamin D.
- Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
- Vitamin D is synthesised in skin on exposure to sunlight (UV-B); dietary sources include fatty fish, egg yolk and fortified milk.
- It works by promoting intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphate for bone mineralisation.
- Beriberi = Vitamin B1 deficiency; scurvy = Vitamin C deficiency; pneumonia = a lung infection (not a deficiency disease).
Only rickets is caused by Vitamin D deficiency.
- Mixing up rickets (Vitamin D) with scurvy (Vitamin C) — different vitamins.
- Treating pneumonia as a 'deficiency disease' — it is an infection.
Asked as 'which disease is caused by deficiency of Vitamin X' or as match-the-following vitamin–disease pairs.
Consider the following pairs: Vitamin — Deficiency disease: 1. Vitamin C — Scurvy; 2. Vitamin D — Rickets; 3. Vitamin E — Night blindness. Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 3 only
- (c) 1, 2 and 3
- (d) None
Answer(a) 1 and 2 only
Directly tests the Vitamin D → Rickets pairing (and Vitamin C → Scurvy); Vitamin E is wrongly linked to night blindness (that is Vitamin A).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Deficiency of which vitamin causes scurvy?
- (a)Vitamin A
- (b)Vitamin C
- (c)Vitamin D
- (d)Vitamin K
Answer(b) Vitamin C — its deficiency causes scurvy.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The adult form of the bone disease caused by Vitamin D deficiency is called:
- (a)Osteoporosis
- (b)Osteomalacia
- (c)Arthritis
- (d)Gout
Answer(b) Osteomalacia — the adult counterpart of rickets.