Malabsorption

Malabsorption is impaired absorption of nutrients by the gastrointestinal tract. It can affect one nutrient, a group of nutrients, or many nutrients at once, depending on the underlying problem. Because normal absorption requires digestion, contact with a functional intestinal surface, transport across intestinal cells, and movement into blood or lymph, disruption at several stages can produce a malabsorptive picture .¹

Malabsorption is closely related to, but technically different from, maldigestion. Maldigestion refers to failure to break food components into forms that can be absorbed, such as when pancreatic enzymes or bile are insufficient. Malabsorption refers more specifically to impaired uptake after or during digestion. In practice the processes overlap, and clinical literature sometimes uses malabsorption broadly for both .¹

Consequences depend on which nutrients are affected and how severe and prolonged the impairment is. Generalized malabsorption may lead to weight loss, diarrhea, or multiple nutrient deficiencies, while selective defects can produce a much narrower pattern. The term describes a physiological failure of nutrient uptake rather than a single disease, and many intestinal, pancreatic, biliary, surgical, and systemic conditions can cause it .¹