Case report of nutritional rickets in an infant following a vegan diet

A Lemoine; E Giabicani; V Lockhart; E Grimprel; P Tounian

doi:10.1016/j.arcped.2020.03.008

Case report of nutritional rickets in an infant following a vegan diet

Arch Pediatr. 2020 May;27(4):219-222. doi: 10.1016/j.arcped.2020.03.008. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Authors

A Lemoine¹, E Giabicani², V Lockhart², E Grimprel³, P Tounian⁴

Affiliations

¹ Paediatric Nutrition and Gastroenterology Department, Trousseau Hospital-AP-HP, Sorbonne Université, 26, avenue du Dr Arnold-Netter, 75012 Paris, France. Electronic address: anais.lemoine@aphp.fr.
² Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Centre de Recherche Saint Antoine, APHP, Hôpital Armand Trousseau, Explorations Fonctionnelles Endocriniennes, 75012, Paris, France.
³ Department of Paediatrics, Trousseau Hospital-AP-HP; Sorbonne Université, 75012 Paris, France.
⁴ Paediatric Nutrition and Gastroenterology Department, Trousseau Hospital-AP-HP, Sorbonne Université, 26, avenue du Dr Arnold-Netter, 75012 Paris, France.

PMID: 32334899
DOI: 10.1016/j.arcped.2020.03.008

Abstract

We report the case of a 13-month-old infant who was referred to the pediatric emergency department because of psychomotor regression with four bone fractures due to nutritional rickets. The reason was prolonged breastfeeding from a vegetarian mother followed by a vegan diet for the infant after weaning. Rickets is one of the many nutritional deficiencies that could affect infants fed vegan or vegetarian diets. These diets are a public health concern requiring adapted information that suggests alternative formulas made from rice or soy proteins and adapted supplementation after weaning.

Keywords: Fracture; Nutritional deficiency; Rickets; Vegan; vegetarian.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Breast Feeding
Diet, Vegan / adverse effects*
Diet, Vegetarian / adverse effects
Humans
Infant
Male
Rickets / diagnosis*
Rickets / etiology
Weaning