9. Decrease in appetite.
In the early stages, liver disorders may cause a slight disinterest in eating and unexplained weight changes. But in the later stages, loss of appetite may cause outright malnutrition.
This isn’t typically desired, but is a function of persistent nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and swelling and chronic fatigue, each of which contributes to the patient’s lack of interest in maintaining weight or intake of sufficient calories.
Even for patients that do continue to eat healthily, with impaired digestive function the body becomes less well able to absorb and use the nutrients in food. This in turn can also cause unexplained weight loss and malnutrition as the disease progresses.
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