There has been a “troubling” increase in the number of people admitted to hospital for health problems caused by a lack of vitamins, new data shows. NHS figures analysed by the PA news agency show a dramatic rise in people with a main diagnosis of anaemia (caused by lack of iron) and B vitamin deficiencies.
The Royal College of GPs said the findings are “very concerning” and highlight how a nutritious diet is becoming “increasingly unaffordable” for some. Symptoms of iron deficiency include being very pale, irritability, fatigue, increased heart rate, sore or swollen tongue, and enlarged spleen.
The condition can cause heart failure if left untreated. In the year 2023/24, there were 191,927 hospital admissions in England where the main reason was a lack of iron, up 11% on the previous year’s 173,227. The 2023/24 figure is also up almost 10-fold on the 20,396 hospital admissions for a lack of iron in 1998/99.
Meanwhile, for B vitamin deficiency (other than folate), there were 2,630 admissions in 2023/24 where this was the main reason, up 15% on the 2,236 in 2022/23 and more than triple the 833 in 1998/1999. Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia led to 3,490 hospital admissions in 2023/24, similar to the previous year, but up four-fold from 836 in 1998/99.
Overall, when looking at patients admitted for any reason but also recorded as having a vitamin deficiency, the numbers are even higher. In 2023/24, there were 804,936 courses of NHS treatment involving people who had iron deficiency anaemia, up from 721,650 the year before.
