The Most Common Nutritional Deficiencies in Adults and Children
Without proper nutrition, our bodies can't function at its best. Researchers, clinicians, and scientists have studied nutrient deficiencies in the United States for more than 50 years through organized national surveys, longitudinal studies, clinical trials, and population-based extrapolations; and the results are the same – we still see staggering numbers today.
It's important to be aware of possible nutrient deficiencies in your diet or caused by your unique physiology that can lead to inadequacies, with or without symptoms. Here we explore some of the most common deficiencies and who is at risk according to the research.
Nutrient deficiencies in kids
Over the last couple of decades, researchers have found that while children’s basic diets have changed for the better, their diets still pose the biggest risk factor for having a nutrient deficiency beyond a medical or genetic condition. School-aged children tend to over-consume fat – especially saturated fats – and sweets, including sweetened beverages, and foods with hidden sugars, and they are doing so more now than in the past, and way above what is recommended for their daily intake. And on the other hand, kids tend to under-consume the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables and therefore lack fiber.1
Parents take note: poor eating habits leave a child most vulnerable to deficiencies in fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin E. And even if you have a good eater, iron and vitamin D are the two most common deficiencies seen in generally healthy children, which can cause common symptoms like fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, frequent colds, and poor sleep. However, it’s worth noting these deficiencies can be related to uncommon symptoms too.1
Any nutrient deficiency in these important growth years can lead to long-term health issues affecting bones and muscles, metabolism, neurocognitive development, cellular health, and immune function, putting a child at an increased risk of missing key developmental milestones. A chronic health condition at a young age is likely going to play a role in nutrient deficiency risk at an older age.
Nutritional deficiencies in adults
Although dietary habits can still play a role in nutrient deficiencies through adulthood, we will also start to see new lifestyle, physiological, medical, and habitual factors emerge that increase the risk for nutrient deficiencies. Age is also a risk factor, because with passing years the structure and function of cells and organs begin to lose efficiency.
Some of the most common modifiable risk factors and the most likely nutrient deficiencies are the following:
Risk Factor | Increased Risk for Nutrient Deficiency of: | Consider Thorne Test / Thorne products that provide nutritional support* |
History of blood loss (e.g., menstruation in premenopausal women, GI bleeding in men or women, blood loss from injury, other) | Iron2 | |
Malabsorption disorder | Fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements3 | |
Pregnancy | Iron, folic acid, zinc, vitamin D4 | |
Excessive alcohol consumption | Folic acid, zinc, niacin, thiamin, vitamin B125 | |
Chemotherapy | Can depend on the type of cancer and treatment, but protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, iron, zinc, and vitamin K deficiencies can result from some chemotherapies6 | |
Renal (kidney) dysfunction | Selenium, zinc, folic acid, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, vitamin D, vitamin C, and protein, depending on the severity7 | |
H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors (to reduce stomach acid) | Calcium, Iron, zinc, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and magnesium8 | |
Antiepileptic medications (for seizures) | Thiamin, riboflavin, biotin, folate, pyridoxine, vitamin B12, vitamin K, vitamin D, vitamin A, and calcium;9 some medications can deplete L-carnitine8 | |
Antihypertensives (for blood pressure) | There are many types in this category, but generally, electrolyte levels (sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and zinc) and B vitamins can fluctuate with water losses; CoQ10 depletion8 | |
Prolonged or excessive antibiotic use | Folic acid, iron, vitamin A, vitamin D, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, vitamin B12, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K8 | |
Psychotherapeutic medications | Folic acid, calcium, riboflavin, melatonin, CoQ10 depletions8 | |
Cholesterol-lowering medications | CoQ10 depletion and vitamin D8 | |
Inadequate sun exposure | Vitamin D5 | |
High-stress lifestyle | Magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, B vitamins10 | |
Vegetarians or Vegans | Iron, zinc, vitamin B128 | |
Metformin | Vitamin B128 | |
Oral contraceptives | Pyridoxine, folic acid, magnesium8 |
You might notice that many of the same nutrients keep popping up in the table above. That is because they are involved in so many metabolic pathways in the body. Symptoms of a deficiency in these common situations can present similarly to when they are present in children: reduced immune function, nagging injuries, weakness, shortness of breath, reduced healing capabilities, weight changes, irritability, and more. Therefore, sometimes it is hard to know by symptoms alone which nutrient or nutrients you could be deficient in without confirming through a test.
Overall risk of having a deficiency
Despite the awareness that nutrient deficiencies can occur with the use of medications, poor lifestyle habits, or inadequate diet, deficiencies are quite prevalent. One study looked at the risk of having multiple concurrent deficiencies and found that almost one in three people is at risk of at least one vitamin deficiency. When you consider sex, age, and life stage the numbers increase: 37 percent of women are at risk for a deficiency; 41 percent of women ages 19-50 and 47 percent of pregnant or breastfeeding women are at risk of having a nutrient deficiency.11
What is extremely interesting is that 16 percent of the individuals who consume an adequate diet based on the Estimated Average Requirement of nutrients still have at least one nutrient deficiency, likely because of genetics, having multiple risk factors from the list above, or other less common situations.
Test yourself
Nutrient depletions or deficiencies can take weeks or months to show up in a blood test for the biomarker or surrogate marker and might or might not be accompanied by symptoms. It is important to note that, while the risk for a nutrient deficiency can be increased if you have multiple risk factors, it can be decreased with a properly formulated diet and a personalized supplementation regimen after nutrient status evaluation.
The easiest, most effective way to identify a nutrient deficiency is through comprehensive testing on a consistent basis. Be sure to test if any of these risk situations apply to you because changes can appear in related biomarkers before a true deficiency becomes apparent.
If you are at risk for a nutrient deficiency, then look to Thorne’s in-lab and at-home tests for evaluations, education, and a personalized plan to support your health and wellness goals based on your current lifestyle.
References
- Haimi M, Lerner A. Nutritional deficiencies in the pediatric age group in a multicultural developed country, Israel. World J Clin Cases 2014;2(5):120-125.
- Kumar A, Sharma E, Marley A, et al. Iron deficiency anaemia: pathophysiology, assessment, practical management. BMJ Open Gastroenterol 2022;9(1). doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2021-000759
- Zuvarox T, Belletieri C. Malabsorption Syndromes. StatPearls Publishing; 2022.
- Blumfield ML, Hure AJ, MacDonald-Wicks L, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of micronutrient intakes during pregnancy in developed countries. Nutr Rev 2013;71(2):118-132.
- Guo EL, Katta R. Diet and hair loss: effects of nutrient deficiency and supplement use. Dermatol Pract Concept 2017;7(1):1-10.
- Dreizen S, McCredie KB, Keating MJ, Andersson BS. Nutritional deficiencies in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. Postgrad Med 1990;87(1):163-167, 170.
- Iorember FM. Malnutrition in chronic kidney disease. Front Pediatr 2018;6:161.
- Karadima V, Kraniotou C, Bellos G, Tsangaris GT. Drug-micronutrient interactions: food for thought and thought for action. EPMA J 2016;7(1):10.
- Soltani D, Ghaffar-Pour M, Tafakhori A, et al. Nutritional aspects of treatment in epileptic patients. Iran J Child Neurol 2016;10(3):1-12.
- Lopresti AL. The effects of psychological and environmental stress on micronutrient concentrations in the body: a review of the evidence. Adv Nutr 2020;11(1):103-112.
- Bird JK, Murphy RA, Ciappio ED, McBurney MI. Risk of deficiency in multiple concurrent micronutrients in children and adults in the United States. Nutrients 2017;9(7). doi:10.3390/nu9070655