Who is at risk of vitamin E deficiency?

Deficiency is rare. It has not been found in healthy people who eat little vitamin E.^[1] It occurs mainly in:

• preterm babies with a very low birth weight, under 1,500 g^[1]
• people who absorb fat poorly, for example with Crohn's disease or cystic fibrosis^[1]
• people with rare inherited diseases, such as abetalipoproteinemia or ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED)^[1]

Signs include anemia, nerve damage in the arms and legs, poor balance, muscle weakness, damage to the retina and a weaker immune response.^[1] A blood level of alpha-tocopherol under 12 µmol/L is the usual cut-off for deficiency.^[1]