Beriberi

Definition

Beriberi is a vitamin deficiency disease in which the body does not have enough thiamine (vitamin B1).

Alternative Names

Causes

There are two major types of beriberi:

• Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system.
• Dry beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome affect the nervous system.

Beriberi is now rare in the United States because most foods are now vitamin-enriched, which means that if you eat a normal, healthy diet you get enough thiamine. Today, beriberi occurs mostly in patients who abuse alcohol, because drinking heavily can lead to bad nutrition and makes it harder for the body to absorb and store thiamine.

There is a rare condition known as genetic beriberi. This condition is inherited (passed down through families). People with genetic beriberi lose the ability to absorb thiamine from foods. This can happen slowly over time and symptoms occur when the person is an adult. However, since beriberi may not be considered in non-alcoholics, this diagnosis is often missed.

Beriberi can also occur in breast-fed infants when the mother's body is lacking in thiamine. The condition can also affect infants who are fed unusual formulas with inadequate thiamine supplements.

Dialysis and high doses of diuretics raise your risk of beriberi.