Impact of Sarcopenia on Health - Related Quality of Life in Cirrhotics

Dr. Ben Xavier, Dr. T Ravishankar, Dr. A Senthilvadivu, Dr. V Arulselvan

Abstract: Background and objectives: Quality of life (QoL) is variably impaired in chronic liver disease, regardless of cause or severity. Sarcopenia adversely affects clinical outcomes including survival, sepsis-related mortality, and post-liver transplantation survival in cirrhotic patients. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia and impact on QoL using CLDQ-T questionnaire in patients with cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: After getting ethical clearance and informed consent, a prospective observational study was conducted. Consecutive adult cirrhotic patients with Tamil as mother tongue admitted over a period of one year were evaluated for sarcopenia according to the 2021 Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) consensus statement [hand grip cut-offs and CT skeletal muscle index (SMI)]. The translated version of CLDQ into Tamil (CLDQ-T) was used to assess QoL. Results: The study included 84 patients with a mean age of 46 years. Sarcopenia was present in 39 (46.4%) of patients. Sarcopenia was present in 11.5% in CHILD A, 47.5 % in CHILD B and 94.4 % in CHILD C cirrhotic patients. Sarcopenia had a moderate negative correlation with Quality of life as assessed by CLDQ- T particularly in relation with systemic symptoms and activity. Conclusion: Cirrhotic patients with sarcopenia were found to have lower overall QoL as per CLDQ-T, especially related to systemic symptoms and activity.

Keywords: quality of life, sarcopenia, cirrhosis, CLDQ-T