The Nature of Nutritional Diseases Occurring in the South

Abstract

W HEN nutritional diseases in the South are mentioned, there is always one disease that stands out above all others. This is pellagra, and because of its high incidence, it should attract our attention first. It is by far the most serious of our deficiency disease problems. However, we should not let this fact blind us to the existence of other deficiency diseases in this part of the United States. It is to be expected that other dietary deficiency diseases will also develop in an area in which a large number of people live on a diet restricted enough to produce pellagra. You cannot expect a generally poor diet to be deficient in only one respect, and there is ample evidence that other deficiency diseases such as scurvy, beriberi, nutritional edema, and nutritional anemia occur in the South. There are occasional reports of cases of beriberi, and there is evidence that vitamin B1 deficiency may be more widespread than was thought a few years ago. Spies and his associates have found that the peripheral neuritis which is frequently seen in cases of pellagra responds to the administration of vitamin B1, a strong indication that these cases really are suffering from a multiple vitamin deficiency. Another deficiency disease in the South associated with these same types of diet is nutritional edema, which was discussed at the Milbank meeting last year by Dr. Youmans.! This condition appears to be due to a protein deficiency and usually manifests itself