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. 2020 Feb 20;12(2):547.
doi: 10.3390/nu12020547.

Sarcopenia and Liver Cirrhosis-Comparison of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia Criteria 2010 and 2019

Julia Traub  1 , Ina Bergheim  2 , Martin Eibisberger  3 , Vanessa Stadlbauer  4
Affiliations

Sarcopenia and Liver Cirrhosis-Comparison of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia Criteria 2010 and 2019

Julia Traub et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The European Working group on Sarcopenia in Older People recently updated the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia. It is yet unclear how these modified criteria influence the rate of diagnosis in high risk populations, such as liver cirrhosis. We therefore assessed if the new diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia impacts on sarcopenia prevalence in liver cirrhosis. Within two years 114 cirrhotic patients were prospectively enrolled in the study. Sarcopenia was determined by muscle strength (handgrip strength), muscle mass (lumbal muscle index) and muscle performance (gait speed). Using the 2019 definition, the rate of pre-sarcopenia was significantly lower (30.7% versus 3.5%) due to the different starting points (2010 muscle mass, 2019 muscle strength) and cut-off values (muscle strength). The change in diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia drastically influences the rate of pre-sarcopenia diagnosis in cirrhotics. To evaluate, which diagnostic criteria should be chosen to diagnose sarcopenia in liver cirrhosis patients, prospective studies are needed.

Keywords: consensus; liver cirrhosis; muscle strength; sarcopenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sankey diagram to visualize and quantify the changes in sarcopenia diagnosis using the EWGSOP 2010 and 2019 criteria.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sankey diagram to visualize and quantify the changes in sarcopenia diagnosis in women (a) and men (b) using the EWGSOP 2010 and 2019 criteria.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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