Marasmus

Nutrient deficiency is the main cause of marasmus. It occurs in children that don’t ingest enough protein, calories, carbohydrates, and other important nutrients. This is usually due to poverty and a scarcity of food.

There are several types of malnutrition. A malnourished child may have something other than marasmus. Among the more common types of malnutrition are serious deficiencies in:

  • iron
  • iodine
  • zinc
  • vitamin A

Signs and symptoms

Most children with marasmus look shrunken and have lost most of their muscles and body fat. Their bodies try to save as much energy as possible by shutting down the immune system, not growing, and giving less energy to the liver, kidneys, heart, and gastrointestinal system. This can cause problems like:

  • Having too much fluid in the body, because the kidneys are not working well enough to get rid of it. This can lead toedema(fluid under the skin) and even heart failure.
  • Hypothermia (low body temperature), because staying warm takes energy, and because the child has almost no fat or muscles to keep them warm
  • Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), because the child is not getting sugar or carbohydrates from foods
  • Infection, because the child's body has shut down the immune system, which usually fights infection, to save energy

Other symptoms of marasmus include:

  • Anemia (not having enough red blood cells in the blood)
  • Dehydration, not having enough water in the body
  • Shock caused by dehydration (hypovolemic shock)
  • Tachypnea (breathing too fast - for example, from pneumonia or heart failure)
Disability-adjusted life year for protein-energy malnutrition per 100,000 inhabitants in 2002.     no data     less than 10     10–100     100–200     200–300     300–400     400–500     500–600     600–700     700–800     800–1000     1000–1350     more than 1350
  • Eye problems
  • Skin problems
  • Problems with the ears, nose, and throat (like ear infections)

Causes

Marasmus is caused by a deficiency (not having enough) of nearly all nutrients, especially protein, carbohydrates, and lipids (fats).

Treatment

Marasmus can be treated by giving emergency nutrients and fluids. However, treating the causes of marasmus is not enough. Often, the disease has complications (it causes other problems), like infections, dehydration, and problems with the circulatory system. These complications are very dangerousand often kill children if they are not treated correcty

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