Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Feb 25:9:774044.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.774044. eCollection 2022.

Assessment of Sarcopenia Related Quality of Life Using SarQoL® Questionnaire in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis

Speranta Iacob  1   2 , Victor Mina  1   3 , Matei Mandea  2 , Razvan Iacob  1   2 , Roxana Vadan  2 , Voichita Boar  2 , Georgeta Ionescu  4 , Dan Buzescu  4 , Cristian Gheorghe  1   2 , Liana Gheorghe  1   2
Affiliations

Assessment of Sarcopenia Related Quality of Life Using SarQoL® Questionnaire in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis

Speranta Iacob et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Introduction: Sarcopenia, malnutrition, physical deconditioning, and frailty contribute to a significantly altered quality of life (QoL) in patients with cirrhosis and sarcopenia.

Aim: To investigate the sarcopenia-linked alterations of QoL by SarQoL® questionnaire in patients with end-stage liver disease.

Methods: Consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis, admitted to our department between May and August 2021, completed the SarQoL® questionnaire by themselves. They were evaluated for sarcopenia according to the 2019 European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) definition [hand grip cut-offs and skeletal muscle index (SMI) calculation at CT scan].

Results: A total of 71 patients with liver cirrhosis were included in the study, with a median age of 54 years. Sarcopenia was present in 31.2% of patients with Child-Pugh class A, in 58.3% with class B, and in 93.5% with class C. The SarQoL® score was statistically significant and lower in Child-Pugh class C vs. class B and class A (70.2 vs. 66.5 vs. 52.5 points, p = 0.0002). The SarQoL® score was evaluated according to different complications of cirrhosis, with statistically significant lower scores in patients with sarcopenia (p < 0.0001), in patients with ascites requiring paracentesis (p = 0.0006), and in patients with hepatic encephalopathy (p < 0.0001). A cut-off level of 75.9 points for SarQoL® score can accurately detect sarcopenia in patients with end-stage liver disease [area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve of.823, SE of 92.1%, SP of 45.5%, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 66 and 83.3%, respectively, correctly classified 73.2% of cirrhotic patients with sarcopenia].

Conclusions: The use of SarQoL® questionnaire in cirrhotic patients can, at the same time, evaluate the quality of life and identify subjects with sarcopenia and altered QoL.

Keywords: cirrhosis; frailty; liver; quality of life; sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of SarQoL score according to Child-Pugh score.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curve (AUC = 0.823) generated by SarQoL® score which accurately diagnoses sarcopenia in patients with end-stage liver diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dhaliwal A, Armstrong MJ. Sarcopenia in cirrhosis: a practical overview. Clin Med. (2020) 20:489–92. 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0089 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lai JC, Tandon P, Bernal W, Tapper EB, Ekong U, Dasarathy S, et al. . Malnutrition, frailty, and sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis: 2021 practice guidance by the american association for the study of liver diseases. Hepatology. (2021) 74:1611–44. 10.1002/hep.32049 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Traub J, Bergheim I, Eibisberger M, Stadlbauer V. Sarcopenia and liver cirrhosis - comparison of the European working group on sarcopenia criteria 2010 and 2019. Nutrients. (2020) 12:547. 10.3390/nu12020547 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J, Boirie Y, Bruyère O, Cederholm T, et al. . Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. (2019) 48:16–31. 10.1093/ageing/afy169 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Montano-Loza A, Duarte-Rojo A, Meza-Junco J, Baracos V, Sawyer M, Pang J, et al. . Inclusion of sarcopenia within MELD (MELD Sarcopenia) and the prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. (2015) 6:e102. 10.1038/ctg.2015.31 - DOI - PMC - PubMed