Everyone Healthy Library
Protein Energy Malnutrition
Also Known As: Marasmus
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
! Seek urgent medical care if warning signs appear
Some health conditions or symptoms can become urgent. Use this page for education, but seek help quickly if warning signs are present.
Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:
- chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
- stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
- collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
- severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
- severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
- severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
- signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you
Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Condition overview
Attributes
Linked signs and symptoms
17Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
- Abdominal Swelling
- Behaviour: Attention Deficit (Reduced Ability to Focus)
- Growth Impairment or Stunted
- Hair Loss
- Hair Thinning
- Hair: Fine Hair Growth (Lanugo)
- Mind: Anxiety
- Mind: Apathy
- Mind: Decreased Mental Response
- Mind: Developmental Delay
- Mind: Irritability
- Muscle Wasting
- Skin: Lax and Hanging in Loose Folds
- Swelling (Oedema, Edema)
- Weight Below Expected Range
- Weight Loss (Body Mass Index Decreased)
- Wound Healing Delayed
Linked drugs / medications
0No linked drugs are listed yet.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
8Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Medical therapy
1Lifestyle changes
3Vitamins and minerals
1Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
27These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
- Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) Concentration
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Concentration
- Anion Gap
- Antithrombin 111 (AT-111) Activity Test
- Apolipoprotein B Concentration
- Blood Urea Nitrogen Tests
- Blood Uric Acid Concentration Test
- Cholesterol Concentration
- Cholinesterase (Serum Acetylcholinesterase, Pseudocholinesterase)
- Ferritin Concentration
- Fibrinogen Concentration test
- Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Concentration
- Heamatocrit (Hct)
- Hemoglobin (Hb) Concentration
- High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Concentration
- Homocysteine Concentration (HCY, Blood)
- Luteinizing Hormone (LH) Concentration
- Phosphate Concentration (PO4, Phosphorus)
- Protein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Sweat Testing
- Thyroxine (Total T4) Concentration
- Thyroxine Binding Globulin Concentration (TBG, Thyroid Binding Globulin, Blood)
- Triglyceride (TGs) Concentration
- Triiodothyronine (Total T3) Concentration
- Triiodothyronine Uptake Test
- Urine Potassium (K) Concentration
- Vitamin B12 (VB12) Concentration
Biological markers/agents
29This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
7- Chloride (Sweat, Cl)Reference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 0–50 mEq/LLinked diagnostic testsSweat Testing
- Cholesterol (Total)Reference range exampleInfant (0 - 1y): 75–180 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y): 0–190 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsCholesterol Concentration
- HomocysteineReference range exampleAll, Female: 4–15 µmol/L; All, Male: 7–16 µmol/LLinked diagnostic testsHomocysteine Concentration (HCY, Blood)
- Sodium (Na, Sweat)Reference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 70–90 mEq/LLinked diagnostic testsSweat Testing
- Triiodothyronine Uptake PercentageReference range exampleAll: 25–38 %Linked diagnostic testsTriiodothyronine Uptake Test
- Uric Acid, BloodReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 2.5–7 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 4–8 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsBlood Uric Acid Concentration Test
- Urine Potassium (K)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 25–100 mmol/dayLinked diagnostic testsUrine Potassium (K) Concentration
Often decreased
22- Albumin (Blood)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 37–52 gm/dL; Infant (0 - 1y): 4.4–5.4 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsBlood Albumin Concentration, Protein Electrophoresis (Blood
- Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 30–125 units/L; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 40–110 units/LLinked diagnostic testsAlkaline Phosphatase (ALP) Concentration
- Alpha-1 Antintrypsin (AAT)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 90–215 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsAlpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Concentration
- Anion Gap (Including Potassium)Reference range exampleAll: 12–20 mEq/LLinked diagnostic testsAnion Gap
- Antithrombin 111 (AT-111)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 90–110 %Linked diagnostic testsAntithrombin 111 (AT-111) Activity Test
- Apolipoprotein B (Apo B)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 47–115 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 52–120 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsApolipoprotein B Concentration
- Beta GlobulinReference range exampleAll: 0.7–1.2 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsProtein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Blood Urea NitrogenReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 6–18 mg/dL; Child (< 10y): 5–15 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsBlood Urea Nitrogen Tests
- CholinesteraseReference range exampleAll: 6–19 U/mLLinked diagnostic testsCholinesterase (Serum Acetylcholinesterase, Pseudocholinesterase)
- FerritinReference range exampleChild (0 - 16y): 7–140 µg/L; Adult ( > 16y), Female: 18–160 µg/LLinked diagnostic testsFerritin Concentration
- FibrinogenReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 150–400 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsFibrinogen Concentration test
- Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 0.6–55 units/L; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 1.49–15 units/LLinked diagnostic testsFollicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Concentration
- Hemoglobin (Hb)Reference range exampleFemale: 78–100 gm/dL; Male: 76–100 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsHemoglobin (Hb) Concentration, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) Weight Test
- High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 53–500 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 45–500 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsHigh Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Concentration
- Luteinizing Hormone (LH)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 3–56 units/L; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 1.2–8 units/LLinked diagnostic testsLuteinizing Hormone (LH) Concentration
- Phosphate (PO4, Phosphorus, P)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 2.5–4.5 mg/dL; Birth - 2wks: 4.3–9.2 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsPhosphate Concentration (PO4, Phosphorus)
- RBC MassReference range exampleFemale: 36–48 %; Male: 42–52 %Linked diagnostic testsHeamatocrit (Hct)
- Thyroxine (Total T4)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 6–12 µg/dL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 5–12 µg/dLLinked diagnostic testsThyroxine (Total T4) Concentration
- Thyroxine Binding Globulin (TBG, Thyroid Binding Globulin, Blood)Reference range exampleInfant (0 - 1y), Female: 1.7–3.6 mg/dL; Infant (0 - 1y), Male: 1.6–3.5 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsThyroxine Binding Globulin Concentration (TBG, Thyroid Binding Globulin
- TriglyceridesReference range exampleAdult ( > 16y), Female: 32–137 mg/dL; Adult ( > 16y), Male: 35–155 mg/dLLinked diagnostic testsTriglyceride (TG's) Concentration, Triglyceride (TGs) Concentration
- Triiodothyronine (Total T3)Reference range exampleInfant (0 - 1y): 1.1–2.43 ng/mL; Adult ( > 16y): 1–2.1 ng/mLLinked diagnostic testsTriiodothyronine (Total T3) Concentration
- Vitamin B12 (VB12)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 130–670 pmol/LLinked diagnostic testsVitamin B12 (VB12) Concentration
Introduction / full article
Protein Energy Malnutrition
The main information article for this record is not yet available in the database.