Sudden Weight Loss In Elderly
One of your limbs may even look smaller than the other.
Sudden weight loss in elderly. What are some of the causes of unintentional weight loss in the elderly. You are good to point out that it is first of all important to discover the cause s and not jump to conclusions or a solution before really delving in. Your body is made of fat mass and.
This is a very well thought out article about the complexities of unexplained sudden weight loss in older adults. Unexplained weight loss can be from various conditions including gut disease diabetes depression or cancer. Rapid unintentional weight loss in elderly is usually indicative of underlying disease and accelerates the muscle loss which normally occurs with aging.
As a caregiver or family member here are some of the possible causes of weight loss to explore with your older relative and their doctor. Elderly patients with unintentional weight loss are at higher risk for infection depression and death. Such weight losses typically are caused by diseases or even treatments that are pre existing and can help alert caregivers to a health concern before a doctor s appointment arrives.
Unintentional weight loss i e more than a 5 reduction in body weight within six to 12 months occurs in 15 to 20 of older adults and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality 1 in. What is sudden weight loss for seniors. Sudden senior weight loss is quick unintentional and unexplained weight loss in older adults.
The leading causes of involuntary weight loss are depression especially in residents of. Here are 6 possible causes of sudden rapid weight loss. Many older adults lose weight as they age which is not necessarily a good thing.
When an older adult loses five percent or more of their weight over a period of six months and they are not specifically working on weight loss this could be cause for alarm. Intentional weight loss even when excess fat mass is targeted also includes accelerated muscle loss which has been shown in older persons to correlate negatively with functional capacity for. Especially if an older adult is living on his her own far away from adult children who can help and monitor.