On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your small intestine does most of the digesting of the foods you eat. If you have a malabsorption syndrome, your small intestine cannot absorb nutrients from foods.

Causes of malabsorption syndromes include:

• Celiac disease
• Lactose intolerance
• Short bowel syndrome. This happens after surgery to remove half or more of the small intestine. You might need the surgery if you have a problem with the small intestine from a disease, injury, or birth defect.
• Whipple disease, a rare bacterial infection
• Genetic diseases
• Certain medicines

Symptoms of different malabsorption syndromes can vary. They often include chronic diarrhea, abnormal stools, weight loss, and gas. Your doctor may use lab, imaging, or other tests to make a diagnosis.

Treatment of malabsorption syndromes depends on the cause.

Start Here

• Malabsorption (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Overview of Malabsorption (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Lower GI Series (Barium Enema) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Stool Elastase (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Stool Tests (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Xylose Testing (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Alagille Syndrome (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Specifics

• Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Short Bowel Syndrome (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Tropical sprue (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Whipple Disease (Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center)

Genetics

• Abetalipoproteinemia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Glucose-galactose malabsorption: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Hereditary folate malabsorption: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Lactose intolerance: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Malabsorption Syndromes (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Mechanistic insights into mutation in the proton-coupled folate transporter (SLC46A1) causing...
• Article: Bile acid diarrhea in patients with chronic diarrhea. Current appraisal and...
• Article: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: from malabsorption to misinterpretation.
• Malabsorption Syndromes -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American College of Gastroenterology
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

• Collecting a Stool Sample for Testing (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Failure to Thrive (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Intestinal Failure (Short Bowel Syndrome) (North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition) Also in Spanish
• Short Bowel Syndrome (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• D-xylose absorption (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Fecal fat (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Malabsorption (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Short bowel syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Small bowel bacterial overgrowth (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Stools - floating (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Whipple disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish