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 Jan;105(1):175-186.
doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2020.08.019. Epub 2020 Nov 7.

Approach to Patients with Unintentional Weight Loss

Liyanage Ashanthi Menaka Perera  1 , Aparna Chopra  2 , Amy L Shaw  3
Affiliations
Review

Approach to Patients with Unintentional Weight Loss

Liyanage Ashanthi Menaka Perera et al. Med Clin North Am. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Unintentional weight loss is a common clinical problem with a broad differential diagnosis that is clinically important because of the associated risks of morbidity and mortality. Community-dwelling adults are often diagnosed with malignancy, nonmalignant gastrointestinal disorders, and psychiatric disorders as the cause of unintentional weight loss, whereas institutionalized older adults are diagnosed most often with psychiatric disorders. Up to a quarter of patients do not have a diagnosis after comprehensive workup, and close follow-up is warranted. Treatment involves management of underlying causes.

Keywords: Involuntary weight loss; Malignancy; Older adults; Unintended weight loss; Unintentional weight loss; Weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Dr. Shaw supported in part by a Joachim Silbermann Family Clinical Scholar Award in Geriatrics from the Rosanne H. Silbermann Foundation.

MeSH terms