"a deficiency of" is a perfectly acceptable phrase in written English.
You can use it when describing a lack of something, such as "There is a deficiency of parking spaces downtown."
An uptake of serotonin to replace a deficiency of belief?
NitroMed says that blacks are also more likely to have a deficiency of nitric oxide.
We ourself were suffering at the time from a deficiency of silver, and were rapidly outdistanced.
It often seems that a deficiency of humor is a criterion of casting a candidate.
The syndrome is due to a deficiency of the enzyme, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, or HPRT.
I write it down in red ink: "We do not have a deficiency of demand".
Nail deterioration indicates a deficiency of vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, zinc and boron.
Diabetes, caused by a deficiency of the sugar-regulating hormone insulin, affects around 5% of people in developed nations.
Scurvy, caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C, sometimes killed off more than half a ship's crew.
This in turn contributed to the understanding of several diseases, including pernicious anemia caused by a deficiency of vitamin B12.
"We think those with lowest adherence to the Mediterranean dietary plan have a deficiency of essential nutrients".
