Vitamin C Forum

There has been a dramatic rise in people being admitted to hospital with anaemia which can cause heart issues if left untreated, as GPs say figures are 'concerning

Meanwhile, for B vitamin deficiency (other than folate), there were 2,630 admissions in 2023/24 where this was the main reason. This is an increase of 15% on the 2,236 in 2022/23 and more than triple the 833 in 1998/1999.

Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia led to 3,490 hospital admissions in 2023/24. This is similar to the previous year, but up four-fold from 836 in 1998/99.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “It is very concerning that cases of nutrition-related anaemia serious enough to warrant hospital admission have seen such a substantial increase over the past 25 years. The near 10-fold rise in admissions for patients with a diagnosis of iron deficiency and a four-fold increase in folate deficiencies – primarily caused by a lack of nutrition in the diet – is particularly troubling.
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