Involuntary weight loss

Involuntary weight loss is a clinical situation with unknown incidence, significance and prognosis. We present a retrospective study of 68 patients hospitalized due to involuntary weight loss. The most frequent individual cause was neoplasia; however, globally, non-neoplastic causes were most freque...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAnales de medicina interna (Madrid, Spain : 1984) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 68
Main Authors Alonso Martínez, J L, Samperiz Legarre, A L, Rubio Obanos, T, Agorreta Ruiz, F J, Escolar Castellón, F
Format Journal Article
LanguageSpanish
Published Spain 01.02.1993
Subjects
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Analysis of Variance
Chi-Square Distribution
Communicable Diseases - diagnosis
Communicable Diseases - epidemiology
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - diagnosis
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Retrospective Studies
Sex Factors
Spain - epidemiology
Weight Loss
Spain
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Involuntary weight loss is a clinical situation with unknown incidence, significance and prognosis. We present a retrospective study of 68 patients hospitalized due to involuntary weight loss. The most frequent individual cause was neoplasia; however, globally, non-neoplastic causes were most frequent. None of the symptoms was significantly associated to the diagnosis of a neoplastic or non-neoplastic disease. The mean age of the patients with neoplasia (71.36 +/- 17.19) differed from the mean age of the patients without neoplasia (63.39 +/- 17.19 years) (p < 0.05). The patients with neoplastic and infectious diseases needed a higher number of analysis than the other patients, being the most valuable data the presence of anemia, cholestasis and determination of thyroid hormones. The most useful evaluations were clinical and endoscopical assessments, thoracic radiography and abdominal echography.
ISSN:0212-7199