Approximately half of the patients have endocrine disorders such as diabetes, nutritional disorders such as pellagra or kwashiorkor, or have taken drugs such as guanethidine, thioridazine, or isoprenaline.
Kwashiorkor, a form of calorie and protein deficiency, is a more serious type of malnutrition in young children, and can negatively affect physical and mental development.
Related syndromes include kwashiorkor and marasmus, although these do not always have an underlying causative illness and are most often symptomatic of severe malnutrition.
Extreme fluid retention observed in individuals suffering from kwashiorkor is a direct result of irregularities of the lymphatic system and capillary exchange.
