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PICA--CRAVING FOR NON-FOOD ITEMS
Pica is an eating disorder
that is manifested by a craving for oral ingestion of a given substance that is
unusual in kind (nonfood items) or quantity (food items). Pica usually
indicates a mineral deficiency but it can also cause toxicities or deficiencies
of other minerals.
| Z Gastroenterol 1998 Aug;36(8):635-40 |
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[Pica in Germany--amylophagia as the etiology of iron deficiency anemia].
[Article in German]
Menge H, Lang A, Cuntze H
Klinikum Remscheid GmbH, Medizinische Klinik II.
Pica (pica = magpie) is Pica has been described as a world wide
phenomenon, but there are more frequent occurrences of selected substances
among selected groups--especially young children and black pregnant and
nonpregnant women in the southern part of the USA. In Central Europe and
Germany this syndrome has not been described in the modern literature. For
this reason, we report a case of pica for starch associated with severe iron
deficiency anemia in Germany. Iron deficiency anemia and--less
often-potassium and zinc deficiency are the main complications of an
excessive starch or clay ingestion, followed by gastrointestinal
obstructions due to gastroliths or impaction. Additionally, naphtalene
poisoning (in pica for toilet air-freshener blocks), phosphorus poisoning
(in matches pica), mercury poisoning (in paper pica), and lead poisoning (in
dried paint pica) have been described.
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