Do people still get scurvy today?

December 21, 2025 •

4 min read

While often considered a historical disease that plagued sailors on long voyages, scurvy is still present in the modern era. Recent research from 2016 to 2020 has shown a troubling tripling of scurvy incidence in pediatric inpatient populations in the US. Yes, people still get scurvy today, with cases linked to restrictive diets, socioeconomic factors, and certain health conditions.

Quick Summary

Scurvy is a disease caused by a severe vitamin C deficiency that can still occur today in high-risk individuals, not just sailors from centuries past. It is linked to poor diet, alcoholism, psychiatric illness, and obesity. While treatable, recognizing its varied symptoms is key to prevention and rapid recovery.

Key Points

Prevalence in modern society: Yes, people still get scurvy today, particularly among at-risk populations in both developing and developed countries.
Modern risk factors: Restrictive diets (due to food fads, allergies, or eating disorders), alcoholism, smoking, advanced age, and certain chronic diseases like dialysis and malabsorptive conditions are key risks.
Subtle symptoms: Early signs are often non-specific and include fatigue, weakness, irritability, and joint pain, which can be misdiagnosed as other conditions.
Classic indicators: More specific signs include swollen and bleeding gums, corkscrew-shaped hair, easy bruising, and poor wound healing.
Diagnosis is crucial: Accurate diagnosis can be delayed due to low awareness, but is confirmed by a physical exam, dietary history, and often a blood test for vitamin C levels.
Treatment is simple and effective: Scurvy is easily and rapidly treated with vitamin C supplements, followed by improved dietary habits to prevent recurrence.

Scurvy's Resurgence: From Sea to Suburb

Scurvy's historical association with sailors and malnutrition has often led to the misconception that it no longer exists. However, the reality is that scurvy, a disease caused by a severe and prolonged lack of vitamin C, continues to appear today, even in developed nations. Its resurgence is linked not just to general poor nutrition, but to a range of modern lifestyle and medical factors that put certain populations at higher risk. For instance, a 2024 study examining US pediatric inpatient data from 2016 to 2020 revealed that the incidence of scurvy in children more than tripled during that period.

The Surprising Risk Factors for Modern Scurvy

Gone are the days when scurvy was a problem solely of maritime expeditions. Today's risk factors are complex and multi-faceted. They often stem from underlying health conditions, social determinants, and specific lifestyle choices that lead to chronic vitamin C deprivation.

Restrictive Diets: Individuals with eating disorders like anorexia, those with food allergies, or selective eaters—including some children with autism spectrum disorder—are highly susceptible. Vegan and vegetarian diets, if not carefully planned, can also put people at risk. An extreme example is the 'tea-and-toast' diet favored by some elderly individuals living alone, which lacks vitamin-rich produce.
Mental and Physical Health Conditions: Chronic illnesses can impair nutrient absorption or increase vitamin C requirements. This includes inflammatory bowel diseases (like Crohn's and Celiac disease), type 1 diabetes, and end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis. Patients undergoing chemotherapy or those with psychiatric illnesses are also vulnerable due to poor appetite or restricted dietary intake.
Substance Abuse and Socioeconomic Factors: Chronic alcohol and drug dependency can lead to poor dietary habits and severe malnutrition. Furthermore, low socioeconomic status and food insecurity can limit access to and affordability of fresh, vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables.
Gastric Procedures: Bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypass, is a significant risk factor. It alters the gastrointestinal tract, leading to malabsorption of vitamins, including vitamin C.

Comparing Modern vs. Historical Scurvy

While the underlying cause of a vitamin C deficiency remains the same, the context and populations affected have shifted dramatically.


Feature	Historical Scurvy	Modern Scurvy
Primary Victims	Sailors, explorers, and soldiers on long voyages without access to fresh produce.	Individuals with underlying health conditions, psychiatric issues, restrictive diets, or socioeconomic disadvantages.
Cause	Complete lack of dietary vitamin C due to lack of fresh food on long journeys.	Multifactorial; poor dietary intake, malabsorption issues, chronic illness, and specific lifestyle factors.
Geographic Context	Limited to specific conditions like sea travel, sieges, or famines.	Widespread, occurring in both developing and developed nations in specific at-risk populations.
Awareness	Often unknown; a mysterious and deadly plague of the sea for centuries.	Awareness exists but is low among healthcare providers and the public, leading to delayed diagnosis.
Diagnosis	Clinical observation with high mortality rates before citrus cures were universally understood.	Delayed diagnosis is common due to modern-day mimicking of other diseases. Confirmed via blood tests.

The Clinical Manifestations and Treatment

Modern scurvy can be a great mimic, with its initial symptoms often resembling other, more common conditions. This can lead to misdiagnosis or delayed treatment. The symptoms typically begin to appear after a prolonged period—usually a few months—of inadequate vitamin C intake.

Symptoms to Watch For

Fatigue and Weakness: These are often the first and most non-specific signs, appearing as general malaise, irritability, and aching in the arms and legs.
Dermatological Issues: Classic signs include a bumpy rash (follicular hyperkeratosis) and pinpoint bleeding spots (petechiae) around hair follicles, particularly on the lower legs. Coiled or corkscrew-shaped body hair is another specific indicator.
Oral Health Problems: Gums may become swollen, spongy, purple, and prone to bleeding. Without intervention, teeth can become loose and fall out.
Musculoskeletal Pain: Joint and muscle aches are common, sometimes leading to pseudoparalysis (inability to move limbs due to pain), especially in children.
Poor Wound Healing: The body's inability to produce stable collagen means old wounds may reopen and new ones fail to heal properly, increasing the risk of infection.
Psychological Changes: In some cases, individuals may experience mood changes, including sadness, irritability, or even cognitive disturbances.

Diagnosis and Effective Treatment

Diagnosing modern scurvy requires a high degree of clinical suspicion. Healthcare providers must take a thorough dietary history and perform a physical exam, looking for the characteristic skin and oral signs. A blood test measuring serum vitamin C levels can confirm the deficiency. A rapid, positive response to treatment with vitamin C is a crucial diagnostic indicator when lab tests are unavailable or delayed.

Treatment is straightforward and highly effective, consisting of vitamin C supplementation. A typical treatment course involves high doses of ascorbic acid for several weeks, often followed by long-term dietary changes and a daily multivitamin. The healing process can be remarkably quick; constitutional symptoms like fatigue can improve within 24–48 hours, while skin and gum issues take longer to resolve.

Conclusion

Scurvy is no longer a disease of the distant past but a persistent, and in some pediatric populations, increasing, modern health concern. While still relatively rare in the general public of developed nations, its continued presence is a stark reminder of the fragile link between nutrition and health. The varied, often misleading, symptoms necessitate a high index of suspicion from healthcare providers, especially when dealing with at-risk groups, including the elderly, individuals with restrictive diets, those battling addiction or mental illness, and those facing socioeconomic barriers. Fortunately, diagnosis and treatment are simple and inexpensive, offering a rapid return to health for those affected. Preventing scurvy involves ensuring an adequate daily intake of vitamin C, primarily through a balanced diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. With increased awareness and vigilance, the potentially severe consequences of modern scurvy can be mitigated and avoided.

Learn more about the history and science of vitamin C deficiency at the National Library of Medicine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Today's at-risk groups include people with eating disorders, chronic alcoholism, restrictive diets due to food fads or allergies, elderly individuals living alone with poor dietary intake, smokers, and patients with conditions affecting nutrient absorption like inflammatory bowel disease or those on dialysis.

Yes, children can get scurvy, especially toddlers with extremely selective eating habits (sometimes linked to autism or other conditions), or infants fed only cow's milk which lacks sufficient vitamin C. Pediatric cases have been reported to be on the rise in some developed countries.

The earliest signs of scurvy are often non-specific, such as unusual fatigue, weakness, irritability, loss of appetite, and aching pain in the arms and legs. These symptoms may appear after a few months of very low vitamin C intake.

With proper treatment using vitamin C supplementation, the signs of scurvy can improve very quickly. Constitutional symptoms like fatigue may resolve within 24-48 hours, while skin lesions and gum issues can take weeks or months to heal completely.

Diagnosis is based on a careful physical examination for classic signs like gum issues and skin abnormalities, a detailed dietary history, and confirmation through a blood test to measure plasma vitamin C levels. Sometimes, rapid improvement after supplementation is used as a diagnostic clue.

For most people consuming a varied diet, even one that is not perfectly healthy, the risk of developing full-blown scurvy is very low. However, severe deficiencies are possible if the diet is heavily restricted and excludes fresh fruits and vegetables for a prolonged period, typically three months or more.

Scurvy is prevented by consuming enough fresh fruits and vegetables. Excellent sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, bell peppers, broccoli, strawberries, tomatoes, kiwis, and leafy greens.