Zinc deficiency can manifest in a lack of growth in children, increased infections (due to decreased immune function), diarrhea, mental depression, dermatitis, skin lesions, and alopecia (hair loss). Zinc deficiency is most common in people with a high cereal diet and low meat consumption. Once absorbed, the most common route of loss of zinc is from exudates of open wounds (particularly common in burn patients). Other diseases that cause low serum zinc are ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, intestinal bypass, and neoplastic disease. Anorexia and starvation can also cause low zinc levels.
Zinc toxicity is rare but can present with abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Observing a deficiency of copper is often the first manifestation of zinc toxicity since high doses of zinc will compete with copper absorption.
