Weight loss, weight loss - Causes, symptoms and treatment. MF.
Weight loss is a common symptom of diseases. Rapid weight loss is called exhaustion or cachexia( the latter term is often used to refer to extreme exhaustion).Moderate weight loss can be not only a symptom of the disease, but also a variant of the norm, conditioned by the constitutional peculiarity of the organism, for example, in individuals with asthenic type of physique.
In the basis of weight loss may be inadequate or inadequate nutrition, a violation of the assimilation of food, increased disintegration in the body of proteins, fats and carbohydrates and increased energy expenditure( exogenously and endogenously conditioned).Often, these mechanisms are combined. With various diseases, the time of appearance, the degree of expression and the specific mechanisms of weight reduction are significantly different.
Causes of weight loss
To weight loss can lead to both external factors( restriction of food intake, trauma, infection) and internal( metabolic disorders, digestion and absorption of nutrients in the body).
| Reasons for | Mechanisms | States |
| Restriction of food intake | Consciousness disorder | Craniocerebral trauma, stroke. |
| Swallowing disorder | Tumors, narrowing of the esophagus, larynx. | |
| Decreased appetite | Nervous anorexia, intoxication. | |
| Digestion disorder | Disorder of digestion of proteins, fats | Atrophic gastritis, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis |
| Disruption of absorption of nutrients | Celiac disease, enteritis, colitis. | |
| Metabolic disorders | Prevalence of processes of destruction( catabolism) over synthesis processes | Severe trauma, burns, malignant neoplasms, endocrine pathology, connective tissue diseases. |
When does weight loss occur:
- Long-term psychoemotional stress( loss of appetite)
- Acute and chronic infections and parasitic diseases( intestinal infection, tuberculosis, syphilis, malaria, amebiasis, helminthiases, HIV infection)
- Gastrointestinal diseasesesophagus, cicatricial stenosis of the pylorus, malabsorption syndrome, chronic enterocolitis, liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis)
- Nutritional disorders( neurogenic bulimia, anorexia)
- Oncological diseases
-singular malignancy in the body of patients tumor takes cellular metabolites( glucose, lipids, vitamins), which leads to disruption of biochemical processes that occur internal resource depletion and develops cachexia( wasting).It is characterized by a sharp weakness, reduced ability to work and the ability to serve themselves, reducing or lack of appetite. In many cancer patients, it is cancerous cachexia that is the direct cause of death.
Weight loss - as a leading symptom, is characteristic of a certain endocrine pathology( thyrotoxicosis, hypopituitarism, type 1 diabetes).With these conditions, there is a disruption of the production of various hormones, which leads to a serious disorder of metabolic processes in the body.
Thyrotoxicosis is a syndrome that includes conditions caused by an increase in thyroid hormones in the blood. In the body there are increased processes of decay of protein and glycogen, their content in the heart, liver, muscles decreases. He manifests a general weakness, tearfulness, unstable mood. Disturbances are palpitations, arrhythmias, sweating, tremors of hands. An important symptom is a decrease in body weight with a continued appetite. It occurs with diffuse toxic goiter, toxic adenoma, the initial stage of autoimmune thyroiditis.
Hypopituitarism is a syndrome that develops due to inadequate secretion of the hormones of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. It occurs with tumors of the pituitary gland, infectious diseases( meningoencephalitis).It is manifested by a progressive decrease in body weight( up to 8 kg per month) with the development of exhaustion( cachexia), expressed by general weakness, dry skin, apathy, decreased muscle tone, fainting.
Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a disease caused by absolute insulin deficiency as a result of autoimmune lesion of beta cells of the pancreas, which leads to disruption of all kinds of metabolism and, first of all, carbohydrate metabolism( there is an increase in glucose in the blood and excretion in the urine).The debut of the disease occurs in childhood and adolescence, and is rapidly progressing. The most frequent symptoms of the disease are thirst, frequent urination, dry and itchy skin, progressive weight loss despite increased appetite, abdominal pain.
Syndrome of intoxication is typical for infectious diseases, tuberculosis, helminthiases. The causative agent of the disease, penetrating the human body, releases toxins that have a damaging effect on cellular structures, disrupt immune regulation, and disrupt the function of various organs and systems. It manifests itself as a febrile or subfebrile temperature, loss of appetite, weight loss, excessive sweating, and weakness. A significant decrease in body weight is characteristic of long-term, chronic infections.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium tuberculosis and characterized by the formation of specific granulomas in different organs and tissues. The most common form of tuberculosis is pulmonary tuberculosis, for which, in addition to the intoxication syndrome, cough is dry or with sputum, shortness of breath, chest pain associated with breathing, hemoptysis, pulmonary hemorrhage.
Helminthiases - parasitic diseases of man caused by various representatives of lower worms - helminths. They release toxic substances that cause intoxication of the body and disrupt the digestive process.
For helminthiases is characterized by a gradual development of the disease, weakness, abdominal pain associated with eating, weight loss, with a saved appetite, pruritus, allergic rashes, a type of urticaria.
Significant weight loss, up to cachexia, not related to eating habits due to immune disorders, is characteristic of connective tissue diseases - systemic scleroderma and nodular polyarteritis.
Systemic scleroderma is manifested by the defeat of the skin of the face and hands in the form of "dense" edema, shortening and deformation of the fingers, pain and stiffness in the muscles, damage to the internal organs.
For nodular polyarteritis is characterized by skin changes - marbling of the limbs and trunk, intense pain in the calf muscles, increased blood pressure.
Weight loss is characteristic of most diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Acute or chronic inflammation leads to a change in metabolism, toward catabolism( destruction), increases the body's need for energy, the processes of absorption and digestion of food are violated. To reduce pain in the abdomen, patients often themselves limit the intake of food. And dyspeptic phenomena( nausea, vomiting, loose stools) lead to the loss of proteins, microelements, electrolytes, which leads to a disruption in the delivery of nutrients to the tissues.
Alimentary dystrophy is a disease that occurs due to prolonged malnutrition and fasting, in the absence of an organic disease that could be the cause of weight loss. It is characterized by a progressive decrease in body weight. There are 2 forms: cachectic( dry) and edematous. At the initial stages, it is manifested by increased appetite, thirst, pronounced weakness. There are violations of water-electrolyte metabolism, amenorrhea( absence of menstruation).Then the weakness grows, the patients lose the ability to serve themselves, and the hungry( alimentary-dystrophic) coma develops. Causes of the disease: social catastrophes( famine), mental illness, neurogenic anorexia( refusal to eat because of the desire to lose weight).
Weight Loss Survey
To determine weight loss, somatometric indicators are used. These include: the dynamics of weight loss, the body mass index according to the Quete( body weight-kg / height m 2), the shoulder circumference( in the middle third of the shoulder of the non-working hand).
| Indicators | Norm | Insufficient food light | Insufficient food moderate | Insufficient food severe |
| Weight loss( % of baseline) | 0-2 | 2-5 | 5-10 | > 10 |
| Body mass index( kg / m²) in females | 29-26 | 28.25 | 26-23 | 25-22.5 |
With the help of laboratory indicators, the severity of weight loss is determined, the possible causes. In the general analysis of the blood, an inflammatory process, anemia, is revealed. In the analysis of blood glucose is determined by diabetes. The level of hormones TSH( thyreotropic hormone), T3 and T4( thyroid hormones) - is examined for evaluation of thyroid function. Biochemical blood indices: liver tests( for evaluation of liver function), creatinine( detection of renal insufficiency), electrolites. Proteinogram and acute phase proteins are examined to assess the degree of protein starvation and determine the inflammatory process. Revmoproby - to identify connective tissue diseases, immunodeficiency states. Analysis of feces for eggs of helminths. According to the indications, specific antibodies to the causative agents of infectious diseases, HIV-infection, oncomarkers, markers of tuberculosis are determined. Also carry out studies of the gastrointestinal tract: fibroesophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy, ultrasound of the abdominal cavity organs. Radiography of the chest - to identify the inflammatory process, tuberculosis, oncopathology.
When identifying the corresponding pathology, consultations of specialists are required: infectious diseases specialist, rheumatologist, phthisiatrist, oncologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist.
When excluding organic pathology and confirming the diagnosis of "neurogenic anorexia," a psychiatrist examination is necessary.
Treatment of weight loss
Treatment of weight loss should begin as early as possible, avoiding the development of severe depletion, which is difficult to treat, to stabilize clinico-laboratory and somatometric indicators. First of all, you need to establish food. It should be fractional 6-8 times a day, balanced, contain an increased amount of proteins, vitamins, have sufficient energy value, in conjunction with drugs that improve digestion and assimilation of food. It is necessary to limit the rough vegetative fiber, exclude fried, salted, pickled foods, alcoholic beverages, spicy seasonings. In case of impaired consciousness, expressed nausea, vomiting, enteral nutrition( through the probe) or parenteral( intravenously) by special nutrient mixtures.
What are the doctors to handle if there is a weight loss:
The changes that occur in the body with weight loss cause serious digestive system disorders, metabolism, weaken the immune defense, cause disruption of endocrine glands functions, therefore, when the first signs of a symptom appear,general practitioner( therapist, pediatrician, family doctor).
You may also need medical advice:
- Endocrinologist
- Oncologist
- Gastroenterologist
- Psychologist
- Infectiologist