Acquired nutritional deficiencies

Alcoholism, several gastrointestinal diseases, intestinal bypass procedures, psychiatric disturbances such as anorexia nervosa, restrictive diets, long-term tube feeding, and perceived or real food allergy may lead to acquired nutritional deficiency in developed nations. Cutaneous changes occur in deficiency states of many nutritional elements such as vitamin C, zinc, niacin, iron, retinol, protein-energy, vitamin B12, vitamin K, biotin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, essential fatty acids. Skin manifestations are the diagnostic clue in scurvy, acrodermatitis enteropathica, and pellagra. Although not strictly specific and pathognomonic, oral mucosal alterations such as glossitis and cheilitis associated with hair and nail changes are extremely common in iron and vitamin deficiencies. Nutritional supplementation induces complete regression of systemic and skin symptoms. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.