Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Feb;36(2):287-294.
doi: 10.1007/s00467-019-04424-2. Epub 2019 Dec 13.

Protein energy wasting; what is it and what can we do to prevent it?

Affiliations
Review

Protein energy wasting; what is it and what can we do to prevent it?

Lesley Rees. Pediatr Nephrol. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Some children with declining height and BMI SDS fail to respond to optimisation of nutritional intake. As well as poor growth, they have muscle wasting and relative preservation of body fat. This is termed protein energy wasting (PEW). The process results from an interaction of chronic inflammation alongside poor nutritional intake. This review discusses the causes and potential preventative therapies for PEW.

Keywords: Cachexia; Chronic kidney disease; Protein energy wasting.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effect of inflammation on growth hormone secretion. Reproduced from reference [23]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The role of fluid overload in the development of PEW

References

    1. Mekahli D, Shaw V, Ledermann SE, Rees L. Long-term outcome of infants with severe chronic kidney disease. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010;5:10–17. doi: 10.2215/CJN.05600809. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rees L, Mak RH. Nutrition and growth in children with chronic kidney disease. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2011;7:615–623. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2011.137. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fouque D, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Kopple J, Cano N, Chauveau P, Cuppari L, Franch H, Guarnieri G, Ikizler TA, Kaysen G, Lindholm B, Massy Z, Mitch W, Pineda E, Stenvinkel P, Trevino-Becerra A, Wanner C. A proposed nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for protein-energy wasting in acute and chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int. 2008;73:391–398. doi: 10.1038/sj.ki.5002585. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kovesdy CP, Kalantar-Zadeh K. Why is protein-energy wasting associated with mortality in chronic kidney disease? Semin Nephrol. 2009;29:3–14. doi: 10.1016/j.semnephrol.2008.10.002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abraham AG, Mak RH, Mitsnefes M, White C, Moxey-Mims M, Warady B, Furth SL. Protein energy wasting in children with chronic kidney disease. Pediatr Nephrol. 2014;29:1231–1238. doi: 10.1007/s00467-014-2768-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed