BODY CELL MASS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH LIVER CIRRHOSIS
Main Article Content
Abstract
Aims: Malnutrition is frequent in liver cirrhosis and contributes to adverse outcomes. Body cell mass (BCM), the metabolically active component of fat-free mass, may provide useful information on nutritional depletion. This study examined the association between BCM and nutritional and clinical characteristics in patients with cirrhosis.
Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 133 adult patients with cirrhosis. Nutritional status was assessed using the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). Body composition parameters, including BCM, were estimated by direct segmental multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBody S10, InBody Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea). Correlation analysis and multivariable linear regression with backward elimination were performed to identify factors independently associated with BCM.
Results: The mean age was 57.99 ± 11.33 years, and 89.5% were male. According to SGA, 30.1% were well nourished, 58.6% had moderate or suspected malnutrition, and 11.3% had severe malnutrition. BCM decreased across worsening SGA categories, from 30.56 ± 4.12 kg in SGA A to 29.55 ± 4.78 kg in SGA B and 26.91 ± 5.30 kg in SGA C. In multivariable analysis, severe malnutrition (SGA C), older age, and sex remained independently associated with BCM, whereas Child–Pugh score was not.
Conclusion: In patients with cirrhosis, BCM was independently associated with severe malnutrition, age, and sex, but not with liver disease severity. BCM may therefore reflect nutritional and body composition impairment rather than hepatic functional severity alone.
Keywords
Body cell mass, Liver cirrhosis, Malnutrition, Subjective Global Assessment, Body composition, Bioelectrical impedance analysis
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References
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