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A recent report, published by the journal of the Canadian Medical Association about a 65-year-old woman diagnosed with scurvy, advised doctors to be more alert to the disease in patients with low socioeconomic status or facing food insecurity. Concerns about scurvy were highlighted when federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it was “making a comeback” during Question Period on Oct. 21.
Is scurvy on the rise? Here’s what we know about its presence in Canada.
What is scurvy?
Scurvy arises from a severe lack of Vitamin C over an extended period. Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus fruits. Symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, problems with teeth and gums, skin discolouration, and anemia. It can take months of Vitamin C deficiency for scurvy to emerge, with specific symptoms appearing as it worsens.
The report detailed a case in Hamilton and said the patient had struggled to walk for years owing to leg pain, affecting her ability to shop and cook. That resulted in “a sustained period of dietary intake limited to predominantly nonperishable foods – specifically, canned soup and tuna fish, along with white bread and processed cheese. During this time, she was not taking any supplements or vitamins.”
Smoking tobacco can also diminish Vitamin C levels. The Hamilton patient reported smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day.
Screenshot of a report of a scurvy case in Hamilton, showing the affected teeth and legs of the patient diagnosed.Canadian Medical Association Journal
No statistics on scurvy in Canada
There’s no clear information on the number of people diagnosed with scurvy in Canada, but data does suggest Vitamin C deficiency may be common.
A report published in 2020 by researchers from McMaster University studied patient data in Hamilton between 2009 and 2017. It identified 52 people with low vitamin C levels with 12 who could be confidently diagnosed with scurvy. Another 39 tested positive for scurvy but did not have documented symptoms.
In the United States, a July report showed the number of paediatric scurvy cases went to 26.7 per 100,000 in 2020, up from 8.2 per 100,000 children in 2016, representing more than a tripling of cases over the time period studied.
A British report from 2008 says “recent case reports of scurvy indicate that vitamin C deficiency may be more prevalent that generally assumed,” in findings that estimated 25 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women of low socioeconomic status had Vitamin C deficiency.
Scurvy hasn’t completely disappeared – and there’s a group of Canadians that is particularly at risk
Scurvy raised in Parliament
On Oct. 7, the same day the report of the Hamilton scurvy case was published, Conservative MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman raised the link between the disease and food insecurity during Question Period. Ms. Kramp-Neuman blamed Liberal policies and the carbon tax for inflation that contributed to food insecurity.
Mr. Poilievre, the Official Opposition Leader, returned to the topic during Question Period on Monday in the context of inflation, affordability and food insecurity, which he blamed Liberal policies for worsening.
“Scurvy is making a comeback after nine years of this government,” he said.
There isn’t the data to support or debunk Mr. Poilievre’s statement. His suggestion that scurvy has been worsening since the federal Liberals were elected to government in 2015 is challenged by the McMaster report that documented a number of scurvy cases during part of the previous Conservative government’s term.
A recent report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that inflation and higher interest rates eroded Canadians’ purchasing power since 2022, particularly for lower-income households. Food deserts, areas without access to retail food establishments offering a sufficient variety of affordable goods, are another factor in Canadians’ diets.