What is the Difference Between Anorexia and Cachexia

Thekey differencebetween anorexia and cachexiais that anorexia is a medical condition that results in loss of appetite or an aversion to food, while cachexia is a medical condition that causes a loss ofbody mass, resulting in a lean body mass and fat in the body.

Anorexia and cachexia are both known as wasting diseases. They are characterized by weight loss and anemia. Moreover, anorexia is a criterion for diagnosing cachexia. However, they are different conditions with different aetiologies and prognosis.

CONTENTS

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Anorexia
3.What is Cachexia
4.Similarities – Anorexia and Cachexia
5.Anorexia vs. Cachexia in Tabular Form
6.Summary – Anorexia vs. Cachexia

What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is also known asanorexia nervosa. It is an eating disorder. Individuals grappling with this condition highly prioritize the control of their body weight and shape, resorting to extreme measures. This significantly impacts and disrupts various aspects of their lives. Anorexia affects approximately 1% to 2% of the world population. The signs and symptoms of this condition may include missing meals, lying about the eating pattern, taking medicines to reduce hunger, exercising excessively, overwhelming fear of gaining weight, looking at losing weight as a significant thing, strict eating rituals, believing oneself as overweight despite a healthy weight, presenting lower-than-expected body weight and height considering age, lower body mass index for adults, period stopping,bloating,constipation, abdominal pain, headaches, problems in sleeping, feeling cold, dizzy or tired, poor blood circulation in hands and feet, dry skin, hair loss from the scalp, and reduced sex drive.

The exact cause of anorexia is not known. However, it can be caused by a combination of personality traits, emotions, and thinking patterns (feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, anxiety, anger, and loneliness), biological factors (changes in hormones), and environmental factors (social media). Anorexia can be diagnosed through physical examinations, echocardiograms, and psychological assessments. Furthermore, anorexia is treated through psychotherapy, medication (prescribing an antidepressant medication such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), nutrition counseling, group or family therapy, and medical care (a feeding tube or an intravenous fluid in severe cases).

What is Cachexia?

Cachexia is a condition that results in extreme weight loss and muscle wasting. It can be a symptom of chronic conditions such as cancer, chronic renal failure, HIV, and multiple sclerosis. Cachexia can be caused by increased metabolic rate and energy expenditure, reduced intake of nutrients, increased breakdown of muscles, and prevention of muscle growth. Moreover, the symptoms of cachexia may include involuntary weight loss, muscle wasting, loss of appetite or anorexia nervosa, reduced functional ability, and swelling or edema.

可以诊断是否恶病质h body mass index (BMI), measuring lean muscle mass, food intake diaries, and blood tests. Furthermore, cachexia is treated by managing underlying conditions, focusing on social aspects of eating, eating frequent small meals, providing emotional support, using appetite stimulants (dronabinol, megestrol, and glucocorticoids), and encouraging light exercise.

What are the Similarities Between Anorexia and Cachexia?

• Anorexia and cachexia are both known as wasting diseases.
• Both are characterized by weight loss and anemia.
• Anorexia is a criterion for diagnosing cachexia
• Anorexia can be a symptom of cachexia.
• Both can be diagnosed through physical examination, such as assessing body mass index.
• They are treated through specific medications, psychological therapy, and supportive therapy.

What is the Difference Between Anorexia and Cachexia?

Anorexia is a medical condition that results in a loss of appetite or an aversion to food, while cachexia is a medical condition that results in a loss of body mass, which includes lean body mass and fat in the body. Thus, this is the key difference between anorexia and cachexia. Furthermore, anorexia affects approximately 1% to 2% of the world population. On the other hand, cachexia affects approximately 11% of the world’s population.

The infographic below presents the differences between anorexia and cachexia in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Anorexia vs. Cachexia

Wasting is also known as wasting syndrome. It leads to muscle and fat tissue to waste away in the body. Anorexia and cachexia are both known as wasting diseases. But anorexia is also an eating disorder. Moreover, anorexia can also be a symptom of cachexia. However, anorexia is characterized by the inability to maintain a minimally normal weight, extreme food restriction, and an intense fear of gaining weight, while cachexia is characterized by the loss of skeletal muscle and fat in the body. So, this summarizes the difference between anorexia and cachexia.

Reference:

1. “Anorexia Nervosa.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
2.“Cachexia.” StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf – National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Association of Anorexia nervosa with psychiatric and metabolic traits” By Brendagfg – Own work(CC BY-SA 4.0)via Commons Wikimedia
2. “BodyMassIndex” By Thomas Steiner – german article, the old image and some of my own thoughts.(CC BY-SA 2.5)via Commons Wikimedia