Zinc Deficiency with Cheilitis: A Report of Five Cases

Zinc deficiency has long been known as acrodermatitis enteric dermatitis (congenital zinc deficiency). On the other hand, acquired zinc deficiency has attracted attention as a familiar disease in recent years. Epidemiological studies in Japan have shown that acquired zinc deficiency is more common than expected. It is also known that serum zinc levels fall markedly with age. In this report, several cases of acquired zinc deficiency that caused cheilitis are described. In all cases, the only symptom was cheilitis, the serum zinc level was low, and all cases were relieved by zinc supplementation. Zinc deficiency is associated with a range of pathological conditions, including mucocutaneous symptoms, delayed wound healing, dysgeusia, anemia, impaired immunity, and retarded growth development disorders. However, zinc deficiency may be overlooked even in cases of cheilitis alone. Especially in intractable cases, it is important to suspect zinc deficiency as one at the differential diagnoses.