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Causes of copper deficiency in the blood

Medical expert of the article

Gastroenterologist
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

Insufficient copper intake in children underlies 3 clinical syndromes.

  • Anemia (in infants fed mainly dry or fresh cow's milk), anorexia and low copper levels in the blood.
  • Neutropenia, chronic or intermittent diarrhea, decreased copper concentration and ceruloplasmin activity in the blood, impaired bone calcification, anemia (due to impaired iron utilization by ferritin).
  • Menkes syndrome (results from a genetic defect in copper absorption).

Metabolic disorders in copper deficiency

Pathology Metabolic defect Enzyme deficiency
Achromotrichia Disruption of melanin synthesis Tyrosinase
Disorders of the formation of the cardiovascular system, skeleton, collagen and elastin Violation of the formation of "cross-links" of collagen and elastic fibers Connective tissue amino oxidase (lysyl oxidase)
CNS damage Myelin hypoplasia Cytochrome C oxidase

CNS damage

Impaired synthesis
of catecholamines

Dopamine β-hydroxylase

The most important diseases, syndromes, signs of deficiency and excess of copper

Copper deficiency in the body Excess copper in the body

Hereditary forms of hypo- and dyscupreosis: Menkes disease (kinky hair disease with severe CNS damage); Marfan syndrome (skeletal abnormalities, elastic and collagen fibers, aortic aneurysms, arachnodactyly, etc.); Wilson-Konovalov disease (brain damage, large-nodular cirrhosis of the liver, hypercupremia); Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hereditary mesenchymal dysplasia associated with lysyl oxidase deficiency).

Primary (idiopathic) pulmonary emphysema

Copper-deficient collagen and elastopathy (aortopathy, arteriopathy, aneurysm)

Copper deficiency diseases of the skeleton and joints

Copper deficiency anemia of alimentary origin

Copper deficiency states with total parenteral nutrition (anemia)

Non-specific hypercupremia in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, rheumatism, bronchial asthma, kidney diseases, liver diseases, myocardial infarction and some malignant neoplasms, blood diseases: leukemia, lymphogranulomatosis, hemochromatosis, major and minor thalassemia, megaloblastic and aplastic anemia

Occupational hypercupreosis (copper fever, pneumoconiosis)

Copper poisoning

Hemodialysis hypercupreosis Use of oral contraceptives, estrogens

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