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I find this abstract to be an informative summary of the effects of
malabsorption and malnutrition on the immune system:

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J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2005 Jun;115(6):1119-28.

Mechanisms of nutrient modulation of the immune response.

Cunningham-Rundles S, McNeeley DF, Moon A.

Lack of adequate macronutrients or selected micronutrients, especially
zinc, selenium, iron, and the antioxidant vitamins, can lead to clinically
significant immune deficiency and infections in children. Undernutrition in
critical periods of gestation and neonatal maturation and during weaning
impairs the development and differentiation of a normal immune system.
Infections are both more frequent and more often become chronic in the
malnourished child. Recent identification of genetic mechanisms is
revealing critical pathways in the gastrointestinal immune response. New
studies show that the development of tolerance, control of inflammation,
and response to normal mucosal flora are interrelated and linked to
specific immune mechanisms. Nutrients act as antioxidants and as cofactors
at the level of cytokine regulation. Protein calorie malnutrition and zinc
deficiency activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Increased
circulating levels of glucocorticoids cause thymic atrophy and affect
hematopoiesis. Chronic undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency
compromise cytokine response and affect immune cell trafficking. The
combination of chronic undernutrition and infection further weakens the
immune response, leading to altered immune cell populations and a
generalized increase in inflammatory mediators. Obesity caused by excess
nutrition or excess storage of fats relative to energy expenditure is a
form of malnutrition that is increasingly seen in children. Leptin is
emerging as a cytokine-like immune regulator that has complex effects in
both overnutrition and in the inflammatory response in malnutrition.
Because the immune system is immature at birth, malnutrition in childhood
might have long-term effects on health.

PMID: 15940121 [PubMed - in process]

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