What are the symptoms of gastrointestinal malabsorption?

There may be no symptoms if the malabsorption is mild and has not continued for very long. More severe or persistent malabsorption may lead to:

Tiredness (fatigue)

This is because of a lack of energy as you are not absorbing nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals from food.

Perte de poids

If you can't absorb enough energy (calories) from your food then this will cause you to lose weight (and may cause poor growth in children).

Persistent (chronic) diarrhoea

This is a common symptom of persistent malabsorption.

Pale, bulky and smelly stools (steatorrhoea)

This is because there is excessive fat in the stools and they become pale, bulky and very smelly. Fatty stools float and are difficult to flush away. They often leave a greasy rim around the pan.

Intestinal malabsorption may also cause:

• Carence en fer et anémie ferriprive.

• Carence en folates.

• Carence en vitamine B12.

• Abnormal bleeding, caused by low vitamin K.

• Vitamin D deficiency including rickets and osteomalacia.

• Œdème, which occurs because of insufficient protein and calories absorbed into the body.

There may also be other symptoms due to the particular underlying condition that is causing the malabsorption.

The most common causes in the UK are maladie cœliaque, maladie de Crohn and chronic pancreatitis. However, the malabsorption of simple carbohydrates affects about 1 in 4 people in Europe. Some diseases associated with malabsorption are found more often in some families - for example, coeliac disease, Crohn's disease, la fibrose kystique and lactose intolerance.

The causes of gastrointestinal malabsorption include:

Problems with absorbing food from the gut (bowel) into your body

• Maladie cœliaque - a long-term disease that mostly affects the small intestine.

• Intolérance au lactose.

• Allergie aux protéines de lait de vache.

• Soya milk intolerance.

• Fructose intolerance.

• Infection - for example, intestinal tuberculosis, la diarrhée du voyageur.

• Immune deficiency - for example, infection par le VIH.

• Pancreatic insufficiency - for example, la fibrose kystique, chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer.

• Bile salts and acid malabsorption.

Structural causes

Malabsorption may be cause by loss of part of the bowel that is essential to absorb the broken down (digested) food into the body - for example:

• Removal of the stomach or part of the bowel after a stomach or bowel operation.

• maladie de Crohn.

Causes outside the bowel

Examples include:

• Une .

• Eating disorders: anorexie mentale, bulimia nervosa.

Initial tests will include analyses de sang et stool tests. Further tests may include an abdominal échographie, barium studies and a tomodensitométrie (TDM) or a imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM). Any further tests will depend on the likely underlying cause of the intestinal malabsorption.

The treatment will mainly depend on the underlying cause of the malabsorption. However, treatment will also be needed to increase the amount of essential nutrients in the body, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and fat-soluble vitamins (nutritional support).