UPSC Prelims 2014 · Question 37 of 100

UPSC Prelims 2014 question on Vitamin Deficiency Diseases

Consider the following pairs:

Vitamin : Deficiency disease

1. Vitamin C : Scurvy
2. Vitamin D : Rickets
3. Vitamin E : Night blindness

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 3 only
  3. 1, 2 and 3
  4. None
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Verdict

The answer is 1 and 2 only. Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy and Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, but night blindness comes from Vitamin A deficiency, not Vitamin E.

Analysis

Pair 1 is CORRECT. Scurvy follows ascorbic acid deficiency and impaired collagen formation. Pair 2 is CORRECT. Rickets in children follows Vitamin D deficiency and defective bone mineralisation. Pair 3 is INCORRECT. Night blindness arises from Vitamin A deficiency, because retinal is required for rhodopsin in the rod cells. Vitamin E deficiency is associated with haemolysis and neurological effects rather than with night vision.

Source

NCERT Science, Class IX.

How to crack it

Reason from the vitamin's function rather than from a memorised disease list. Vitamin A is the vision vitamin because it forms the visual pigment, so anything about sight belongs to A. Vitamin D is the bone and calcium vitamin, so bone deformity belongs to D. Vitamin C builds connective tissue, so bleeding gums belong to C. Function to organ to disease is a chain you can rebuild under exam pressure, which a bare list is not.

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