Malnutrition and Sarcopenia in Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders: Mechanisms, Assessment, and Management

Malnutrition and sarcopenia are increasingly recognized as clinically meaningful but underappreciated components of gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders. This review examines the prevalence, pathophysiology, assessment, and clinical care of malnutrition in the context of patients with GI motility disease.

Emerging data demonstrate a high burden of malnutrition in GI motility conditions, including gastroparesis and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Mechanisms include reduced oral intake, restrictive eating patterns, malabsorption, inflammation, and physical deconditioning. Novel approaches to assessment, incorporating muscle mass and function, highlight limitations of weight-based metrics alone. Multidisciplinary care remains vital to caring for this patient population. Sarcopenia and malnutrition are modifiable and underrecognized contributors to morbidity in GI motility disorders. Implementing screening and multidisciplinary, nutrition-focused interventions may improve patient-centered outcomes and should be integrated into clinical care and future research.