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Vitamin C insufficiency in Australia: underrated and overlooked?

Jenny E Gunton and Nada Bechara
Med J Aust 2023; 219 (10): . || doi: 10.5694/mja2.52146
Published online: 20 November 2023

Scurvy is an extreme manifestation of vitamin C deficiency;1 an estimated two million sailors died from scurvy during the age of sail,2 and it has often accompanied famines and war.1 Scurvy is now generally only of historical interest in developed countries, but vitamin C deficiency of various grades may be more common than generally appreciated.


  • 1 Western Clinical School, the University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
  • 2 The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW


Correspondence: jenny.gunton@sydney.edu.au

Acknowledgements: 

Jenny Gunton receives funding from a National Health and Medical Research Council program grant (Complexity in nutrition; 1149976). Jenny Gunton and Nada Bechara receive funding from the Western Sydney Local Health District Research and Education Network.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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