Rickets

What it means

Rickets is divided into two major categories including calcipenic and phosphopenic. Hypophosphatemia is described as a common manifestation of both categories. Hypophosphatemic rickets is the most common type of rickets that is characterized by low levels of serum phosphate, resistance to ultraviolet radiation or vitamin D intake. There are several issues involved in hypophosphatemic rickets such as calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus deficiencies. Moreover, other disorder can be associated with its occurrence such as absorption defects due to pancreatic, intestinal, gastric, and renal disorders and hepatobiliary disease. Symptoms are usually seen in childhood and can be varied in severity. Severe forms may be linked to bowing of the legs, poor bone growth, and short stature as well as joint and bone pain. Hypophosphatemic rickets are associated with renal excretion of phosphate, hypophosphatemia, and mineral defects in bones. The familial type of the disease is the most common type of rickets.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this16

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category