Background and aims Obesity is frequently associated with cirrhosis, and cirrhotic patients may develop simultaneous loss of skeletal muscle and gain of adipose tissue, culminating in the condition of sarcopenic obesity. Additionally, muscle depletion is characterized by both a reduction in muscle size and increased proportion of muscular fat, termed myosteatosis. In this study, we aimed to establish the frequency and clinical significance of sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity and myosteatosis in cirrhotic patients. Methods We analysed 678 patients with cirrhosis. Sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity and myosteatosis were analysed by CT scan using the third lumbar vertebrae skeletal muscle and attenuation indexes, using previously validated gender-and body mass index-specific cutoffs. Results Patients were predominately men (n = 457, 67%), and cirrhosis aetiology was hepatitis C virus in 269 patients (40%), alcohol in 153 (23%), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis/cryptogenic in 96 (14%), autoimmune liver disease in 55 (8%), hepatitis B virus in 43 (6%), and others in 5 patients (1%). Sarcopenia was present in 292 (43%), 135 had sarcopenic obesity (20%) and 353 had myosteatosis (52%). Patients with sarcopenia (22 ± 3 vs. 95 ± 22 months, P < 0.001), sarcopenic obesity (22 ± 3 vs. 95 ± 22 months, P < 0.001), and myosteatosis (28 ± 5 vs. 95 ± 22 months, P < 0.001) had worse median survival than patients without muscular abnormalities. By multivariate Cox regression analysis, both sarcopenia [hazard ratio (HR) 2.00, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44–2.77, P < 0.001], and myosteatosis (HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.02–1.07, P = 0.04) were associated with mortality. Conclusions Sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity and myosteatosis are often present in patients with cirrhosis, and sarcopenia and myosteatosis are independently associated with a higher long-term mortality in cirrhosis.

In MELD could improve the prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: We included 669 cirrhotic patients who were consecutively evaluated for liver transplantation. Skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebra (L3 SMI) was measured by computed tomography, and sarcopenia was defined using previously published gender and body mass index–specific cutoffs. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, a novel MELD-sarcopenia score was derived. RESULTS: Sarcopenia was present in 298 patients (45%); sarcopenic patients had shorter median survival than non-sarcopenic patients (20±3 vs. 95±24 months,P<0.001). By Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, gender, and hepatocellular carcinoma, both MELD (hazard ratio (HR) 1.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–1.10,P<0.001), and the L3 SMI (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96–0.99,P<0.001) were associated with mortality. Overall, thec-statistics for 3-month mortality were 0.82 (95% CI 0.78–0.87) for MELD and 0.85 (95% CI 0.81–0.88) for MELD-sarcopenia (P=0.1). Corresponding figures for 1-year mortality were 0.73 (95% CI 0.69–0.77) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.73–0.80), respectively (P=0.03). Thec-statistics for 3-month mortality in patients with MELD<15 (0.85 vs. 0.69,P=0.02) and refractory ascites (0.74 vs. 0.71,P=0.01) were significantly higher for MELD-sarcopenia compared with MELD. CONCLUSIONS: Modification of MELD to include sarcopenia is associated with improved prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis, primarily in patients with low MELD scores. External validation of this prognostic index in larger cohorts of cirrhotic patients is warranted....