Nutritional Disorders: Deficiency Diseases Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A well-known effect of vitamin A (retinol) deficiency is night-blindness (nyctalopia), where the person finds it difficult to see in the dark or in dim light. It also leads to xerophthalmia, or the keratinisation (dryness) of the cornea and conjunctiva. In which part of the body are the cornea and conjunctiva found?

Answer: Eye

Vitamin A (retinol) deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children, and also raises the vulnerability to disease and infections- a child deficient in vitamin A faces a 25% greater risk of death from other childhood diseases such as diarrhoea, measles or malaria.

According to the WHO, between 100 and 140 million children world-wide are vitamin A-deficient, of which between 250000 and 500000 become permanently blind, with half of them dying within 12 months of turning blind.

2. Marasmus and kwashiorkor are both diseases occurring in infants due to the deficiency of which nutrients?

Answer: Proteins

'Marasmus' comes from a Greek word which means "to decay", and occurs in infants below the age of 1 year whose diet is deficient from both proteins as well as carbohydrates. Children suffering from marasmus have a shrivelled appearance, because all the stored fats and proteins in the body are utilised for the production of energy.

The word 'kwashiorkor' has been taken from a dialect from Ghana and literally means "rejected child" and is caused by severe protein-deficiency in children between the age of 1 and 3 years.

3. Haemoglobin is a protein present in our blood, and is responsible for carrying oxygen to all the parts of our body- a process absolutely vital for us to live. For the manufacture of haemoglobin, iron is required, and if the body's iron requirements are not met, the content of haemoglobin in the blood gets reduced, as a result of which oxygen isn't provided to the body-cells in a sufficient quantity to meet their metabolic needs. Because of the reduced haemoglobin count, the person feels tired, loses weight, does not have much of an appetite, and looks pale. What is this condition, a result of reduced haemoglobin count in the blood, called?

Answer: Anaemia

Anaemia is defined as the state of having low haemoglobin levels in the blood, and a deficiency of iron is only one of the main ways with which anaemia is caused. Other causes include deficiency of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) and folic acid, or genetic reasons, as in the case of sickle cell anaemia.

4. Vitamin D or calciferol helps in the deposition of calcium and phosphate ions in the bones. When the diet is deficient in calciferol, however, there is an increased loss of calcium ions through urine, causing twisted and bent bones. In children, the bones become soft, and can be easily bent or deformed and are susceptible to getting fractured. What is this disease called?

Answer: Rickets

Vitamin D can also be synthesised by the human skin when exposed to the Sun's ultra-violet (UV) rays. The layer of fat under our skin contains a substance called 7-dehydrocholestrol, which is converted into vitamin D when exposed to sun-light. Rickets is called 'Osteomalacia' when it occurs in adults.

5. Dehydration, or the loss of water from the body, usually takes place when the person is in a hot, dry environment, suffers from severe hypoglycemia in diabetes, has nausea, or is infected with diseases like cholera and yellow fever, where diarrhoea (frequent loose motions) and vomiting takes place. In such cases, several litres of water may be lost- but it isn't just water that's lost- electrolytes such as halite are also lost, along with which sodium ions are also lost. What is the chemical name of halite?

Answer: Sodium chloride (NaCl)

Sodium ions (Na+) and chloride ions (Cl-) are the constituents of sodium chloride, better known as 'common salt'. Sodium ions play a vital role in conduction of nerve impulses (messages) as well as the contraction of muscle fibres. Sodium is also a component of bile, which aids the process of digestion of fats.

When sodium chloride is lost because of dehydration, muscular cramps, or the unpleasant sensation caused by muscle-contraction may occur. Cramps also occur as a result of over-exertion, cold and illness.

6. Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid- yet another essential component of our diets. It keeps teeth, gums and joints healthy, and also holds cells together and increases our body's resistance to infection. A deficiency of vitamin C leads to bleeding and swollen gums, weight-loss, joint-pains, susceptibility to infection, and delayed wound-healing. What is this condition called?

Answer: Scurvy

Citrus fruits, such as lemons, oranges and tangerines are the best natural sources of vitamin C in the diet. In addition, some people take vitamin C tablets liberally, because vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, and consuming it in large quantities doesn't do much harm as it can be easily egested from the system. Green vegetables like cabbages, when uncooked, are good sources of vitamin C as well. However, if they are washed after being cut, the vitamin C present in them gets dissolved in the water and washed away. Vitamin C also gets destroyed by the process of pasteurisation, so babies who drink bottled milk are at a risk of getting scurvy unless adequate vitamin supplements are taken.

Scurvy is believed to have been discovered by Hippocrates of Cos (460 BC - 377 BC), a physician in ancient Greece. Crusaders in the 13th century AD suffered from the disease in large numbers, leading to terrible loss of life. It was one of the most major problems faced by sailors on long sea voyages, and was also responsible for many deaths during World War I.

James Cook (1728 - 1779), the British explorer and navigator remarkably lost none of his crew to scurvy during his First Pacific Voyage, an achievement unheard of in the 18th century! He forced his men to eat citrus fruits and sauerkraut (finely-sliced white cabbage fermented with the bacteria lactobacillus, the same bacteria responsible for the formation of yogurt), at the risk of being flogged if they did not follow the instructions. However, it wasn't yet understood *how* exactly these foods prevented scurvy.

7. The deficiency of niacin, or nicotinic acid (vitamin B3) in one's diet can cause several skin problems, including skin eczema (skin becoming red, flaky and dry) and swelling of gums and lips, along with frequent loose-motions, mental disturbance, and even death. The skin also becomes itchy and peels off, causing the accumulation of pigments in patches on the skin. A patient might even experience hallucinations and get disoriented, depressed and irritable. What is this condition, a result of a lack of niacin in the diet, called?

Answer: Pellagra

Pellagra means 'rough skin' in Italian, and is characterised by 4 symptoms all beginning with Ds- Dermatitis (eczema), Diarrhoea (frequent loose-motions), Dementia (psychological problems)and ultimately Death.

Pellagra is seen mainly in areas where corn or sorghum is the staple food of the people, this being because they are rich in leucine, an amino acid which interferes with the absorption of niacin in the body.

Now some interesting trivia about the name 'niacin': when the properties of niacin were discovered, people thought it necessary to give it a common name different from nicotinic acid, for it was feared that it would get confused with nicotine, leading to the idea that smoking provided you vitamins, or that healthy, nutritious food contained poison! And so the name 'niacin' was derived, from 'NIcotinic ACId'.

8. Iodine is needed in our diet in small quantities for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, an endocrine gland just below the Adam's Apple in the neck. The primary function of the thyroid gland is the secretion of hormones- one called 'thyroxine' in particular. Thyroxine plays a very important role in the control of the rate of oxidation of food to release energy, i.e. metabolism. As a result of this dependency of the functioning of the thyroid gland on iodine, if there isn't enough iodine in the diet, thyroxine is not produced in its required amount. This causes growth and mental disorders, and most noticeably, an abnormal swelling of the thyroid gland. What term is used to describe this condition where the thyroid gland gets enlarged as a result of iodine-deficiency?

Answer: Goitre

Goitre is an 'endemic disease', i.e. a disease which is restricted to only particular regions- the regions in this case being hilly regions, which are at a distance from the sea-coast. This is because the soil in these hilly areas does not contain much iodine, and hence the food grown and water drunk is devoid of iodine. In contrast, in areas near the sea-coast, marine-fish and other sea-food is consumed, which are rich in iodine, as a result of which goitre is seldom heard of in those parts.

Ever heard of 'iodised salt'? Almost all salt sold in today's times in developed countries is iodised, i.e. salts like potassium iodide (KI) and potassium iodate (KIO3) are added to the common-salt consumed by us with all our food, thus satisfying our iodine needs. As for developing countries, UNICEF has estimated that as of 2002, approximately 2 in 3 house-holds consumes iodised salt- a significant improvement from the 1990 figure of only 1 in 5 house-holds. Despite this rather impressive progress, there are, unfortunately, still 48 countries where less than half the population consumes iodised salt.

But you may ask, "Why iodise salt? Why not other food?" Well, there isn't anything actually too wrong with iodising other food-stuffs, it's just that it's the most practicable with salt, it being inexpensive and widely consumed.

9. Vitamin B1 or thiamine (also spelt 'thiamin') is a water-soluble vitamin essential for growth, oxidation of carbohydrates to release energy (metabolism), and for the functioning of muscles, nerves and the heart. Which of the following diseases is caused by the deficiency of vitamin B1?

Answer: Beri-beri

Beri-beri is yet another endemic disease, occurring in areas where polished (de-husked) rice is the staple food- east and south-east Asia. The husk of the rice-grain, i.e. the its brown outer covering is rich in thiamine, and when the rice is polished in mills, the husk is removed, taking with it the thiamine. Whole grain cereals and pulses are the best sources of thiamine, because of their outer seed-coat. And so the next time you go to buy bread- get whole-wheat bread!

In the 1890s, Christiaan Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, discovered that birds which were fed polished rice developed symptoms similar to his patients who had beri-beri, and that the birds could be cured if they were fed the husk of the rice grains. He then realised that when he had his patients eat unpolished rice, they were less vulnerable to beri-beri. Based on his findings, in 1912, Casimir Funk, a Polish biochemist, tried to isolate the substance which was responsible for preventing beri-beri, and he found thiamine. And thus the first vitamin was discovered.

10. In which of the following countries is the maximum proportion of deaths of children below the age of 5 years directly associated with malnutrition?

Answer: India

In India, 67% of all deaths of under-5 children is caused by nutritional deficiency. India is closely followed by Bangladesh (66%), Nepal (65%), Vietnam (56%) and Pakistan (55%).

Source: Author achernar

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Malnutrition is seldom heard of in developed countries, but unfortunately, in third-world countries, it is the cause of a large number of deaths. Take this quiz to see what you know about nutritional deficiency diseases.

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