‘Troubling’ rise in people admitted to hospital due to lack of vitamins 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.
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.
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.
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.
