Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Oct;21(10):1506-10.
doi: 10.1359/jbmr.060703.

Rickets in the 17th century

Jeffrey L H O'Riordan  1
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Rickets in the 17th century

Jeffrey L H O'Riordan. J Bone Miner Res. 2006 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Rickets was first documented as a cause of death in the Bills of Mortality for The City of London in 1634, but detailed descriptions were only published between 1645 and 1668. It was thought at the time that this was a new disease in England, but there was no indication as to the cause of the condition. However, air pollution from smoke produced by burning coal caused serious problems at that time, and so it can be suggested that vitamin D deficiency was responsible.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Rickets: vitamin D and calcium deficiency.
    Thacher TD, Fischer PR, Pettifor JM. Thacher TD, et al. J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Apr;22(4):638; author reply 639. doi: 10.1359/jbmr.070118. J Bone Miner Res. 2007. PMID: 17362137 No abstract available.