Evaluation of nutritional status by using anthropometry in adults with alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver disease

No systematic studies have examined the nutritional status of patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver disease by using anthropometry. In this study the nutritional status of 132 patients with chronic liver disease was evaluated by using anthropometry, and results were compared with 56 control subjects and 46 patients with other diseases by using standards recommended by Frisancho. Nineteen percent of patients with liver disease were below the 5th percentile for arm fat area and 35% were below the 5th percentile for arm muscle area. Malnutrition was seen equally among patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver disease. Nutritional status of patients with liver disease was similar to that of patients with carcinoma. Anthropometric measurements correlated significantly with measurements of albumin concentration but not with other liver-function tests or with the severity of liver disease as assessed by Child-Pugh score. These data suggest that malnutrition is common in patients with both alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver disease.