PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Shabbir M.H. Alibhai
AU  - Carol Greenwood
AU  - Hélène Payette
TI  - An approach to the management of unintentional weight loss in elderly people
AID  - 10.1503/cmaj.1031527
DP  - 2005 Mar 15
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 773--780
VI  - 172
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/172/6/773.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/172/6/773.full
SO  - CMAJ2005 Mar 15; 172
AB  - 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.