Hospital admissions for lack of vitamins soaring in England, NHS figures show
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Admissions for vitamin or iron deficiencies up by more than 10% year on year and as much as tenfold on 1998-99. The number of people admitted to hospital in England because of a lack of vitamins or minerals is soaring, according to analysis of NHS figures.
In 2023-24 there were 191,927 admissions where the main reason was a lack of iron, up 11% on 2022-23. The figure is almost 10 times the 20,396 hospital admissions for lack of iron in 1998-99. There were also 2,630 admissions in 2023-24 where B vitamin deficiency (other than folate) was the main reason, up 15% on the previous year and more than triple the 833 in 1998-99, according to the NHS data.
Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia resulted in 3,490 hospital admissions in 2023-24, similar to the previous year but up fourfold from 836 in 1998-99, analysis by the PA Media news agency found. Doctors said the substantial rise in admissions due to a lack of vitamins was concerning.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: “The near-tenfold rise in admissions for patients with a diagnosis of iron deficiency and a fourfold increase in folate deficiencies – caused primarily by a lack of nutrition in the diet – is particularly troubling.
“We have seen fresh, healthier foods spike in price over the last few years, making a nutritious diet increasingly unaffordable for some, while fast foods are cheap, are filling and easy to access but are low in nutritious content. GPs are on the frontline of this public health crisis, caring for patients who are experiencing the health consequences of growing deprivation.”.
