WordNet
deficiency disease
n. any disease caused by a lack of an essential nutrient (as a vitamin or mineral)
Usage examples of "deficiency disease".
It was found to be a dietary-deficiency disease, caused by the lack of nicotinic acid in the diet.
Chiara, who had collapsed while driving himself on to care for the sick, was sure it was a deficiency disease.
Apparently they have come down with some sort of vitamin deficiency disease.
You can't catch it because it's a deficiency disease like beriberi.
But are you so sure that you're suffering from a deficiency disease?
For example, he didn't lose a man to scurvy, the deficiency disease which nearly wiped out Magellan's crew during the only round the world voyage preceding Drake's.