Mineral deficiency | |
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Specialty | Endocrinology |
Mineral deficiency is a lack of the dietary minerals, the micronutrients that are needed for an organism's proper health. [1] The cause may be a poor diet, impaired uptake of the minerals that are consumed, or a dysfunction in the organism's use of the mineral after it is absorbed. These deficiencies can result in many disorders including anemia and goitre. Examples of mineral deficiency include, zinc deficiency, iron deficiency, and magnesium deficiency.
Mineral | Symptoms & Diagnosis | Information |
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Calcium deficiency | Asymptomatic or, in severe cases, can have dramatic symptoms and be life-threatening. Symptoms of include numbness in fingers and toes, muscle cramps, irritability, impaired mental capacity and muscle twitching. [2] Vitamin D related hypocalcemia may be associated with a lack of vitamin D in the diet, a lack of sufficient UV exposure, or disturbances in renal function. Low vitamin D in the body can lead to a lack of calcium absorption and secondary hyperparathyroidism (hypocalcemia and raised parathyroid hormone). [2] | Parathyroid related or vitamin D related. |
Chromium deficiency | Severely impaired glucose tolerance, weight loss, peripheral neuropathy and confusion. [3] [4] | The authorities in the European Union do not recognize chromium as an essential nutrient, [5] those in the United States do, and identify an adequate intake for adults as between 25 and 45 μg/day, depending on age and sex. [4] Dietary supplements containing chromium are widely available in the United States, with claims for benefits for fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1C and weight loss. Reviews report the changes as modest, and without scientific consensus that the changes have a clinically relevant impact. [6] [7] |
Copper deficiency | Neurological problems including myelopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and optic neuropathy. Blood symptoms of anemia and neutropenia. [8] | Copper deficiency can manifest in parallel with vitamin B12 and other nutritional deficiencies. [9] The most common cause of copper deficiency is a remote gastrointestinal surgery, such as gastric bypass surgery, due to malabsorption of copper, or zinc toxicity. |
Fluorine deficiency | Increased dental caries and possibly osteoporosis | Fluorine is not considered to be an essential nutrient, but the importance of fluorides for preventing tooth decay is well-recognized, [10] although the effect is predominantly topical. [11] |
iron deficiency | fatigue, dizziness/lightheadedness, pallor, hair loss, twitches, irritability, weakness, pica, brittle or grooved nails, hair thinning, pagophagia, restless legs syndrome [12] | Iron deficiency may be caused by blood loss, inadequate intake, medications interfering with absorption, mechanical hemolysis from athletics, malabsorption syndromes, inflammation, and parasitic infections. In a 2014 U.S. government consumption survey and reported that for men and women ages 20 and older the average iron intakes were, respectively, 16.6 and 12.6 mg/day. [13] |
Iodine deficiency | Goiter, congenital iodine deficiency syndrome, and fibrocystic breast changes | In areas where there is little iodine in the diet, typically remote inland areas where no marine foods are eaten, iodine deficiency is common. It is also common in mountainous regions of the world where food is grown in iodine-poor soil. Prevention includes adding small amounts of iodine to table salt, a product known as iodized salt . Iodine compounds have also been added to other foodstuffs, such as flour, water and milk, in areas of deficiency. [14] |
Manganese deficiency | Skeletal deformation and inhibits the production of collagen in wound healing. [15] | Manganese is a vital element of nutrition in very small quantities (adult male daily intake 2.3 milligrams). |
Magnesium deficiency | Tiredness, generalized weakness, muscle cramps, abnormal heart rhythms, increased irritability of the nervous system with tremors, paresthesias, palpitations, low potassium levels in the blood, hypoparathyroidism which might result in low calcium levels in the blood, chondrocalcinosis, spasticity and tetany, migraines, [16] epileptic seizures, [17] The diagnosis is typically based on finding low blood magnesium levels (hypomagnesemia). [18] basal ganglia calcifications [19] and in extreme and prolonged cases coma, intellectual disability or death. [20] Magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism and its deficiency may worsen insulin resistance, a condition that often precedes diabetes, or may be a consequence of insulin resistance. [21] Normal magnesium levels are between 0.6 and 1.1 mmol/L (1.46–2.68 mg/dL) with levels less than 0.6 mmol/L (1.46 mg/dL) defining hypomagnesemia. [22] Specific electrocardiogram (ECG) changes may be seen. [22] | Causes include low dietary intake, alcoholism, diarrhea, increased urinary loss, poor absorption from the intestines, and diabetes mellitus. [23] [24] [25] A number of medications may also cause low magnesium, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and furosemide. [26] |
Molybdenum deficiency | High blood methionine, low blood uric acid, and low urinary uric acid and sulfate concentrations. | The amount of molybdenum required is relatively small, and molybdenum deficiency usually does not occur in natural settings. [27] |
Potassium deficiency | Mild low potassium does not typically cause symptoms. [28] Symptoms may include feeling tired, leg cramps, weakness, and constipation. [22] Low potassium also increases the risk of an abnormal heart rhythm, which is often too slow and can cause cardiac arrest. [22] [28] | Causes of potassium deficiencyinclude vomiting, diarrhea, medications like furosemide and steroids, dialysis, diabetes insipidus, hyperaldosteronism, hypomagnesemia, and not enough intake in the diet. [22] Normal potassium levels are between 3.5 and 5.0 mmol/L (3.5 and 5.0 mEq/L) with levels below 3.5 mmol/L defined as hypokalemia. [22] [29] It is classified as severe when levels are less than 2.5 mmol/L. [22] Low levels may also be suspected based on an electrocardiogram (ECG). [22] Hyperkalemia is a high level of potassium in the blood serum. [22] |
Selenium deficiency | Significant negative results, [30] affecting the health of the heart and the nervous system; contributing to depression, anxiety, and dementia; and interfering with reproduction and gestation. | People dependent on food grown from selenium-deficient soil may be at risk for deficiency.[ medical citation needed ] |
Sodium deficiency | Mild symptoms include a decreased ability to think, headaches, nausea, and poor balance. [31] [32] Severe symptoms include confusion, seizures, and coma. [31] [33] [34] | The causes of hyponatremia are typically classified by a person's body fluid status into low volume, normal volume, or high volume. [35] Low volume hyponatremia can occur from diarrhea, vomiting, diuretics, and sweating. [35] Normal volume hyponatremia is divided into cases with dilute urine and concentrated urine. [35] Cases in which the urine is dilute include adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism, and drinking too much water or too much beer. [35] Cases in which the urine is concentrated include syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). [35] High volume hyponatremia can occur from heart failure, liver failure, and kidney failure. [35] Conditions that can lead to falsely low sodium measurements include high blood protein levels such as in multiple myeloma, high blood fat levels, and high blood sugar. [36] [37] |
Zinc deficiency | Common symptoms include increased rates of diarrhea. Zinc deficiency affects the skin and gastrointestinal tract; brain and central nervous system, immune, skeletal, and reproductive systems. | Zinc deficiency in humans is caused by reduced dietary intake, inadequate absorption, increased loss, or increased body system use. The most common cause is reduced dietary intake. In the U.S., the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 8 mg/day for women and 11 mg/day for men. [38] |
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in energy metabolism, cellular respiration, and antibody production, as well as normal growth and development. The coenzymes are also required for the metabolism of niacin, vitamin B6, and folate. Riboflavin is prescribed to treat corneal thinning, and taken orally, may reduce the incidence of migraine headaches in adults.
Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamers found in foods and marketed as dietary supplements. The human body requires vitamin K for post-synthesis modification of certain proteins that are required for blood coagulation or for controlling binding of calcium in bones and other tissues. The complete synthesis involves final modification of these so-called "Gla proteins" by the enzyme gamma-glutamyl carboxylase that uses vitamin K as a cofactor.
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures, such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted to smaller molecules in the process of releasing energy, such as for carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and fermentation products, leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide. All organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino acids that are combined to create proteins, a subset of fatty acids, vitamins and certain minerals. Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from their host.
Vitamin deficiency is the condition of a long-term lack of a vitamin. When caused by not enough vitamin intake it is classified as a primary deficiency, whereas when due to an underlying disorder such as malabsorption it is called a secondary deficiency. An underlying disorder can have 2 main causes:
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order to increase the quantity of their consumption. The class of nutrient compounds includes vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, and amino acids. Dietary supplements can also contain substances that have not been confirmed as being essential to life, but are marketed as having a beneficial biological effect, such as plant pigments or polyphenols. Animals can also be a source of supplement ingredients, such as collagen from chickens or fish for example. These are also sold individually and in combination, and may be combined with nutrient ingredients. The European Commission has also established harmonized rules to help insure that food supplements are safe and appropriately labeled.
In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, most are not. Minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients, the others of which are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. The five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. The remaining elements are called "trace elements". They are iron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium.
Potassium is the main intracellular ion for all types of cells, while having a major role in maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance. Potassium is necessary for the function of all living cells, and is thus present in all plant and animal tissues. It is found in especially high concentrations within plant cells, and in a mixed diet, it is most highly concentrated in fruits. The high concentration of potassium in plants, associated with comparatively very low amounts of sodium there, historically resulted in potassium first being isolated from the ashes of plants (potash), which in turn gave the element its modern name. The high concentration of potassium in plants means that heavy crop production rapidly depletes soils of potassium, and agricultural fertilizers consume 93% of the potassium chemical production of the modern world economy.
Hypocalcemia is a medical condition characterized by low calcium levels in the blood serum. The normal range of blood calcium is typically between 2.1–2.6 mmol/L while levels less than 2.1 mmol/L are defined as hypocalcemic. Mildly low levels that develop slowly often have no symptoms. Otherwise symptoms may include numbness, muscle spasms, seizures, confusion, or cardiac arrest.
Electrolyte imbalance, or water-electrolyte imbalance, is an abnormality in the concentration of electrolytes in the body. Electrolytes play a vital role in maintaining homeostasis in the body. They help to regulate heart and neurological function, fluid balance, oxygen delivery, acid–base balance and much more. Electrolyte imbalances can develop by consuming too little or too much electrolyte as well as excreting too little or too much electrolyte. Examples of electrolytes include: calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, and sodium.
Hypokalemia is a low level of potassium (K+) in the blood serum. Mild low potassium does not typically cause symptoms. Symptoms may include feeling tired, leg cramps, weakness, and constipation. Low potassium also increases the risk of an abnormal heart rhythm, which is often too slow and can cause cardiac arrest.
Hypermagnesemia is an electrolyte disorder in which there is a high level of magnesium in the blood. Symptoms include weakness, confusion, decreased breathing rate, and decreased reflexes. Complications may include low blood pressure and cardiac arrest.
Chlortalidone, also known as chlorthalidone, is a thiazide-like diuretic drug used to treat high blood pressure, swelling, diabetes insipidus, and renal tubular acidosis. Because chlortalidone is reliably effective in most patients with high blood pressure, it is considered a preferred initial treatment. It is also used to prevent calcium-based kidney stones. It is taken by mouth. Effects generally begin within three hours and last for up to three days. Long-term treatment with chlortalidone is more effective than hydrochlorothiazide for prevention of heart attack or stroke.
Magnesium deficiency is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is a low level of magnesium in the body. It can result in multiple symptoms. Symptoms include tremor, poor coordination, muscle spasms, loss of appetite, personality changes, and nystagmus. Complications may include seizures or cardiac arrest such as from torsade de pointes. Those with low magnesium often have low potassium.
Manganese deficiency in humans results in a number of medical problems. Manganese is a vital element of nutrition in very small quantities. However poisoning may occur when greater amounts are ingested.
Refined grains have been significantly modified from their natural composition, in contrast to whole grains. The modification process generally involves the mechanical removal of bran and germ, either through grinding or selective sifting.
Manganese is an essential biological element in all organisms. It is used in many enzymes and proteins It is essential in plants.
Selenium deficiency occurs when an organism lacks the required levels of selenium, a critical nutrient in many species. Deficiency, although relatively rare in healthy well-nourished individuals, can have significant negative results, affecting the health of the heart and the nervous system; contributing to depression, anxiety, and dementia; and interfering with reproduction and gestation.
Vitamin D deficiency or hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin D level that is below normal. It most commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate exposure to sunlight, particularly sunlight with adequate ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Vitamin D deficiency can also be caused by inadequate nutritional intake of vitamin D; disorders that limit vitamin D absorption; and disorders that impair the conversion of vitamin D to active metabolites, including certain liver, kidney, and hereditary disorders. Deficiency impairs bone mineralization, leading to bone-softening diseases, such as rickets in children. It can also worsen osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults, increasing the risk of bone fractures. Muscle weakness is also a common symptom of vitamin D deficiency, further increasing the risk of fall and bone fractures in adults. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of schizophrenia.
Copper is an essential trace element that is vital to the health of all living things. In humans, copper is essential to the proper functioning of organs and metabolic processes. The human body has complex homeostatic mechanisms which attempt to ensure a constant supply of available copper, while eliminating excess copper whenever this occurs. However, like all essential elements and nutrients, too much or too little nutritional ingestion of copper can result in a corresponding condition of copper excess or deficiency in the body, each of which has its own unique set of adverse health effects.
Calcium channel blocker toxicity is the taking of too much of the medications known as calcium channel blockers (CCBs), either by accident or on purpose. This often causes a slow heart rate and low blood pressure. This can progress to the heart stopping altogether. Some CCBs can also cause a fast heart rate as a result of the low blood pressure. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, sleepiness, and shortness of breath. Symptoms usually occur in the first six hours but with some forms of the medication may not start until 24 after hours.