Pellagra: a Still Present Disease

Pellagra is a vitamin disorder caused by deficiency in vitamin B3, also called niacin. It is a multi-systemic disorder that most commonly involves skin, nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. Indeed, pellagra is often said to consist of “the four Ds”: dementia, diarrhea, dermatitis, and death. Nowadays it is not a very common disease in developed countries, and its lesions and presentations often resemble other diseases, so it is difficult to identify. For this reason, there are few epidemiological data available in literature. In the twenty-first century, pellagra has been largely eradicated by niacin fortification of food and diet diversification. Despite this, sporadic cases continue to occur.