Pica for Uncooked Basmati Rice in Two Women with Iron Deficiency and a Review of Ryzophagia

The document reported on two nonpregnant women from India and Pakistan living in the USA who exhibited pica for uncooked basmati rice, a condition known as ryzophagia. Both women experienced fatigue, abdominal discomfort, hair loss, and tooth damage due to their consumption of uncooked rice. They were vegetarians and suffered from iron deficiency with microcytic anemia, linked to menorrhagia and multiparity. After receiving iron dextran therapy, their ryzophagia and other symptoms, except for tooth damage, resolved. The study suggested that ryzophagia in European and derivative countries was more likely to occur in non-Europeans, and it reviewed other cases associated with iron deficiency, pregnancy, and cultural factors.