Weight Loss In Elderly Differential Diagnosis
Elderly patients with unintentional weight loss are at higher risk for infection depression and death.
Weight loss in elderly differential diagnosis. The leading causes of involuntary weight loss are depression especially in residents of long term care facilities cancer lung and gastrointestinal malignancies cardiac disorders and benign gastrointestinal diseases. Sometimes a specific cause isn t found. In most cases of significant unintentional weight loss a basic laboratory workup should be performed.
The leading causes of involuntary weight loss are depression especially in residents of. Often a combination of things results in a general decline in your health and a related weight loss. Elderly patients with unintentional weight loss are at higher risk for infection depression and death.
Clinically important weight loss is generally defined as loss of more than 5 percent of usual body weight over 6 to 12 months. 1 department of family medicine university of virginia health system charlottesville 22908 usa. Usually an unrecognized cancer will have other symptoms or abnormalities of laboratory tests in addition to unexplained weight loss.
Weight loss occurs commonly in elderly individuals and is associated with functional decline and mortality. Differential diagnosis of unintentional weight loss. Failure to thrive in elderly persons is defined by the institute of medicine as weight loss of more than 5 decreased appetite poor nutrition and physical inactivity often associated with dehydration depression immune dysfunction and low cholesterol.
It is a diagnostic challenge because while an underlying illness. Unintentional weight loss is often defined as weight loss of at least 5 of the patient s usual body weight that occurs within the preceding 6 to 12 months and that is not the expected consequence of treatment of a known illness. Failure to thrive is not a single disease or medical condition.
Unexplained weight loss has many causes medical and nonmedical. Given that unintentional weight loss is a common condition among older adults and is associated with adverse outcomes our objective was to review the evidence regarding risk factors differential diagnosis prognosis investigation and treatment of unintentional weight loss in this population. 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.