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The Disease That Caused Weight Loss in King David the Great

Department of Family Medicine, Faculty for Health Sciences, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Abstract

Background. Older people have suffered from loss of weight since the dawn of history. This research is unique in character, as it combines contemporary medical knowledge with the presentation of a case taken from Ancient History.

Objective. To analyze from a modern perspective the biblical description of a geriatric patient who suffered from weight loss.

Methods. Biblical texts associated with the aged were examined and passages relating to geriatric patients who suffered from loss of weight were closely studied. This study is based on the evaluation of the biblical passages, and not on the interpretations of various rabbis and scholars.

Results. Passages such as: "... I forget to eat my bread" and "My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh failed of fatness" and "... my bones cleave to my skin" indicate anorexia, fasting, extreme loss of weight, and subsequent cachexia. Among the numerous causes associated with weight loss, malignancy, social problems such as loneliness, social isolation and neglect by others, and psychological causes including depressed mood were most likely responsible. With regard to malignancy, it seems that the King was affected by primary carcinoma of the prostate or kidney with subsequent metastases to bones.

Conclusion. This report demonstrates that the roots of geriatric medicine can be traced to biblical times.