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Acquired night blindness due to bad eating patterns

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 69, pages 752–754 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

We report a case of acquired night blindness in a developed country (Spain) without risk factors for nutritional deficiency disease or family history of hereditary retinal disease. A 76-year-old woman presented with acquired night blindness of 6-month progression. After a thorough inquiry about eating patterns she becomes suspicious of vitamin A low dietary intake, which is analytically confirmed and successfully treated. Despite being very uncommon in our environment and even more in patients without digestive problems, in a patient reporting acquired night blindness vitamin A deficiency should not be discarded until eating patterns have been investigated. It might be especially relevant in certain socioeconomic situations and eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ophthalmology Department, Complejo Hospitalario de Pontevedra, Pontevedra, Spain

    A Parafita-Fernández, M Sampil, N Moraña, E Viso & P C Fernández-Vila

  2. Neurophysiology Department, Complejo Hospitalario de Pontevedra, Pontevedra, Spain

    M M Escalona-Fermín

Authors
  1. A Parafita-Fernández
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  2. M M Escalona-Fermín
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  3. M Sampil
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  4. N Moraña
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  5. E Viso
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  6. P C Fernández-Vila
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A Parafita-Fernández.

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Parafita-Fernández, A., Escalona-Fermín, M., Sampil, M. et al. Acquired night blindness due to bad eating patterns. Eur J Clin Nutr 69, 752–754 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.35

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