1. Home
  2. Analysis
  3. Alli
  4. Malabsorption

Alli and Malabsorption - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Malabsorption is reported as a side effect among people who take Alli (orlistat), especially for people who are female, 50-59 old, have been taking the drug for 6 - 12 months also take Xenical, and have Weight decreased.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people have Malabsorption when taking Alli. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 22,320 people who have side effects when taking Alli from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Alli?

Alli has active ingredients of orlistat. It is often used in weight loss. eHealthMe is studying from 22,818 Alli users. Check the latest studies of Alli.

What is Malabsorption?

Malabsorption (a state arising from abnormality in absorption of food nutrients across the gastrointestinal (gi) tract) is found to be associated with 645 drugs and 1,099 conditions by eHealthMe. Check the latest studies of Malabsorption.

On May, 13, 2026

22,320 people reported to have side effects when taking Alli.
Among them, 15 people (0.07%) have Malabsorption.

Could Alli cause Malabsorption?

Among these 15 people:

How long have people been on Alli when they have Malabsorption? *

  • < 1 month: 0.0 %
  • 1 - 6 months: 25 %
  • 6 - 12 months: 75 %
  • 1 - 2 years: 0.0 %
  • 2 - 5 years: 0.0 %
  • 5 - 10 years: 0.0 %
  • 10+ years: 0.0 %

What is the gender of people who have Malabsorption when taking Alli? *

  • female: 100 %
  • male: 0.0 %

What is the age of people who have Malabsorption when taking Alli? *

  • 0-1: 0.0 %
  • 2-9: 0.0 %
  • 10-19: 0.0 %
  • 20-29: 0.0 %
  • 30-39: 28.57 %
  • 40-49: 28.57 %
  • 50-59: 42.86 %
  • 60+: 0.0 %

What are other drugs people take besides Alli? *

  1. Lortab: 3 people, 20.00%
  2. Xenical: 3 people, 20.00%
  3. Novolog: 2 people, 13.33%
  4. Lantus: 2 people, 13.33%
  5. Flexeril: 2 people, 13.33%
  6. Lyrica: 2 people, 13.33%
  7. Chantix: 1 person, 6.67%
  8. Diflucan: 1 person, 6.67%
  9. Doxil: 1 person, 6.67%
  10. Lasix: 1 person, 6.67%

What are other side effects people have besides Malabsorption? *

  1. Gastric Disorder (disease of stomach): 4 people, 26.67%
  2. Helicobacter Infection (helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) infects stomach): 4 people, 26.67%
  3. Hypovitaminosis (any of several diseases caused by deficiency of one or more vitamins): 4 people, 26.67%
  4. Ocular Icterus (presence of jaundice seen in the sclera of the eye): 4 people, 26.67%
  5. Nail Disorder (disease of nail): 4 people, 26.67%
  6. Nail Discoloration: 4 people, 26.67%
  7. Skin Disorder (skin disease): 4 people, 26.67%
  8. Liver Disorder (liver diseases): 3 people, 20.00%
  9. Hypokalemia (low potassium): 3 people, 20.00%
  10. Hallucinations (sensations that appear real but are created by your mind): 3 people, 20.00%

What are the existing conditions these people have? *

  1. Weight Decreased: 2 people, 13.33%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Do you take Alli and have Malabsorption?

- Check whether Malabsorption is associated with a drug or a condition
- Predict drug outcomes for up to one year with AI
- Get an AI agent to monitor your drugs continuously

Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Alli:

  • Alli (22,818 reports)

Malabsorption treatments and more:

How severe was Malabsorption and when was it recovered:

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of orlistat:

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Alli:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Malabsorption:

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Malabsorption:

How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on orlistat (the active ingredients of Alli) and Alli (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.

Recent studies on eHealthMe:

© 2026 eHealthMe.com. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of eHealthMe.com's terms of service and privacy policy.