Pellagra Causes

Our body requires a certain amount of vitamins, minerals and other elements for the smooth functioning of the body. If any one of these are in less quantity, it gives rise to some or the other disorder. Pellagra is also one of such disorders caused due to chronic niacin deficiency, commonly known as vitamin B₃.

Pellagra can be categorized as primary and secondary depending on the factors effecting it. Let us understand the causes of this health issue. Pellagra is generally observed in the developing countries where the poverty rate is very high which causes lack of nutrition. When the diet lacks niacin (B complex vitamins) or tryptophan (amino acid) or the body is not able to absorb these nutrients, it results in pellagra. In this article, we will be discussing the pellagra causes, symptoms, and treatments.

What Causes Pellagra?

The causes of pellagra have been divided into primary and secondary depending on their severity.

Causes of Primary Pellagra

• Deficiency of vitamin B₃ which is also known as niacin, nicotinic acid, or nicotinamide. Lack of this vitamin throws out of kilter all the cellular and biochemical functions of the body and leads to pellagra.
• Lack of tryptophan that is an essential amino acid also results in pellagra. Vitamin B₃ can be produced from amino acid or tryptophan. Tryptophan is the amino acid that cannot be synthesized by the human body so that it has to be taken from food like groundnuts and beans.

Causes of Secondary Pellagra

• The presence of leucine, an amino acid, in large quantity that interferes in the metabolism of tryptophan and subsequently hinders the synthesis of niacin results in pellagra.
• If chronic diarrhea is not diagnosed and treated on time then it affects the absorption and digestive mechanism of the human body and can cause this disease. Abdominal pain, bad appetite, vomiting, and nausea are some of the common causes that upsets the gastrointestinal system. It can even lead to malnutrition as eating and drinking becomes quite difficult.
• Age factor is also responsible for this disease. Elderly people are more prone to pellagra because of weak digestive system.
• Gastrointestinal disease or acute addiction to alcohol may also be a cause for this disease. They hinder the absorption and digestive mechanism thus causing pellagra.
• Due to pellagra, you will experience awful effects on the neurological system as well. The initial signs of this disease are depression and apathy that may not be very prominent. It is accompanied with other pellagra symptoms like confusion, restlessness, anxiety, disorientation, psychosis, headache, and irritability. The person starts giving very slow or late reactions, may lead to prolong unconsciousness and may even die.

Secondary pellagra is also caused due to ulcerative colitis, diarrhea, chronic alcoholism, liver cirrhosis, and carcinoid tumor. Other medications can also cause pellagra as a side effect. Pellagra generally affects the skin, gastrointestinal system and the nervous system. Let's have a look at the clinical features of this disease in the affected regions. It can also cause redness of the skin along with scaling in areas that are in direct contact with the sunlight, friction and heat. They may appear very similar to sunburn and may have itching and burning sensations. With these symptoms the affected areas become scaly, thick, hard and cracked, and blackened cuts may appear because of the bleeding. Lesions known as casal's necklace may appear in any area like the neck, feet, face, arms, hands, and lower legs. Tongue, gums, and lips might also become sore.

Other than these symptoms and causes we've discussed, a patient becomes highly sensitive to light, gets aggressive and symptoms of insomnia are also observed. If the symptoms like mental confusion and depression go untreated for very long, then it might also develop as dementia. Skeleto-muscular symptom is also a cause of pellagra that results in stiffness in the arms, legs, and other body parts.

So, to balance and maintain the human body we need a diet rich in vitamins and minerals. Other than medicines, following a balanced diet is the only way to avoid pellagra. If you observe any of these causes mentioned in the article, then immediately seek your doctor's advice and take niacin rich foods to stay away from this disease. Eat healthy and stay healthy!