Vitamin poisoning

DiseaseDisorder infobox
Name = hypervitaminosis


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ICD10 = ICD10|E|67|0|e|65-ICD10|E|67|3|e|65
ICD9 = ICD9|278.2, ICD9|278.4
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OMIM =
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Vitamin poisoning, or hypervitaminosis, refers to a condition of high storage levels of vitamins, which can lead to toxic symptoms. The medical names of the different conditions are derived from the vitamin involved: an excess of vitamin A, for example, is called "hypervitaminosis A"."

High dosage vitamin A; high dosage, slow release vitamin B₃; and very high dosage vitamin B₆ alone (i.e. without vitamin B complex) are sometimes associated with vitamin side effects that usually rapidly cease with supplement reduction or cessation.

Vitamin C has a brief, pronounced laxative effect when taken in large amounts, typically in the range of 5-20 grams per day in divided doses for a person in normal "good health," although seriously ill people, [ [http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm Vitamin C, Titrating To Bowel Tolerance, Anascorbemia, And Acute Induced Scurvy] Robert F. Cathcart, III, M.D. 1994 ] may take 100-200 grams without inducing vitamin poisoning.

High doses of mineral supplements can also lead to side effects and toxicity. Mineral-supplement poisoning does occur occasionally due to excessive and unusual intake of iron-containing supplements, including some multivitamins, but is not common.

The Dietary Reference Intake recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture define a "tolerable upper intake level" for most vitamins.

Comparative safety statistics

Death by vitamin poisoning appears to be quite uncommon in the US, typically none in a given year. Before 1998, several deaths per year were associated with pharmaceutical iron-containing supplements, especially brightly-colored, sugar-coated, high-potency iron supplements, and most deaths were children.cite journal |author=Tenenbein M |title=Unit-dose packaging of iron supplements and reduction of iron poisoning in young children |journal=Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med |volume=159 |issue=6 |pages=557–60 |year=2005 |pmid=15939855 |doi=10.1001/archpedi.159.6.557 |url=http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/159/6/557] Unit packaging restrictions on supplements with more than 30 mg of iron have since reduced deaths to 0 or 1 per year. These statistics compare with 59 deaths due to aspirin poisoning in 2003 cite journal |author=Watson WA, Litovitz TL, Klein-Schwartz W, "et al" |title=2003 annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System |journal=Am J Emerg Med |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=335–404 |year=2004 |pmid=15490384 |doi=10.1016/j.ajem.2004.06.001 |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S073567570400141X] and 147 deaths associated with acetaminophen-containing products in 2003.

ee also

* Hypervitaminosis A
* Hypervitaminosis D
* Hypervitaminosis E
* Avitaminosis
* Orthorexia nervosa

References