CMAJ • March 15, 2005; 172 (6). doi:10.1503/cmaj.1031527.
© 2005 CMA Media Inc. or its licensors
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Review
Synthèse

An approach to the management of unintentional weight loss in elderly people

Shabbir M.H. Alibhai, Carol Greenwood and Hélène Payette

From the Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, University Health Network, the Geriatric Program, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and the Departments of Medicine and of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Alibhai); the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, the Kunin Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit and the Department of Food and Nutrition Services, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Ont. (Greenwood); and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, and the Research Centre on Aging, Sherbrooke Geriatric University Institute, Sherbrooke, Que. (Payette)

Correspondence to: Dr. Shabbir M.H. Alibhai, University Health Network, Rm. ES 9–407, 200 Elizabeth St., Toronto ON M5G 2C4; fax 416 595-5826; shabbir.alibhai{at}uhn.on.ca

Abstract

UNINTENTIONAL WEIGHT LOSS, or the involuntary decline in total body weight over time, is common among elderly people who live at home. Weight loss in elderly people can have a deleterious effect on the ability to function and on quality of life and is associated with an increase in mortality over a 12-month period. A variety of physical, psychological and social conditions, along with age-related changes, can lead to weight loss, but there may be no identifiable cause in up to one-quarter of patients. We review the incidence and prevalence of weight loss in elderly patients, its impact on morbidity and mortality, the common causes of unintentional weight loss and a clinical approach to diagnosis. Screening tools to detect malnutrition are highlighted, and nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic strategies to minimize or reverse weight loss in older adults are discussed.




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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]