deficiency disease

Definition of Deficiency Disease

(noun) A disease caused by the absence (malnutrition) of an essential nutrient, typically a certain mineral or vitamin.

Types of Deficiency Disease

• avitaminosis: A deficiency in one or more vitamins such as scurvy which is caused by lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and rickets by a lack of vitamin D.
• kwashiorkor: Lack of protein, typically affecting young children in tropical areas after weaning.
• marasmus: Lack of calories (energy), typically found in infants.

Deficiency Disease Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: de·fi·cien·cy dis·ease

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /dɪˈfɪʃənsi dɪˈziz/
• British English – /dɪˈfɪʃənsi dɪˈziːz/

Usage Notes

• Plural: deficiency diseases
• Deficiency diseases are a concern of sociologists because of the impact of them on those living in poverty.

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Food and Agriculture Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Medical Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “deficiency” and “disease” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Kaul, Chandrika. 2002. Statistical Handbook on the World’s Children. Westport, CT: Oryx.
• Pond, Wilson G., Buford L. Nichols, and Dan L. Brown. 2009. Adequate Food for All: Culture, Science, and Technology of Food in the 21st Century. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
• Turner, Bryan S. 2009. The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies. London: Routledge.

Related Terms

• acute disease
• cancer cluster
• chronic disease
• disease
• environmental racism
• epidemiology
• health
• infectious disease

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Works Consulted

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Bender, David A. 2014. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.

Kent, Michael. 2007. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Last, John M, ed. 2007. A Dictionary of Public Health. New York: Oxford University Press.

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

Martin, Elizabeth, ed. 2010. Concise Medical Dictionary. 8th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Martin, Elizabeth, and Robert Hine, eds. 2008. A Dictionary of Biology. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Martin, Elizabeth, and Tanya A. McFerran, eds. 2014. A Dictionary of Nursing. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. 1997. New York: Random House.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Deficiency Disease

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “deficiency disease.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 2, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/deficiency-disease/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

deficiency disease. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/deficiency-disease/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “deficiency disease.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/deficiency-disease/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“deficiency disease.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/deficiency-disease/>.