Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41118290›Full record

SynthesisHepatology communications2025

The impact of sarcopenia and frailty on decompensation in compensated cirrhosis: A systematic review.

Chiara Becchetti, Elton Dajti, Grace L Su, Christian Labenz, Antonio Colecchia, Sith Siramolpiwat, Yoji Ishizu, Kathleen P Ismond, Lucian Beer, Rafael Paternostro and 11 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Hepatology communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Sarcopenia Predicts Mortality and Hepatic Encephalopathy After TIPS in Older Adults With Cirrhosis and Improves Prognostic Scores.Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Chiara BecchettiDepartment for Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-8262-0304
Elton DajtiDepartment for Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-2905-1146
Grace L SuDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Christian LabenzDepartment of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.
Antonio ColecchiaGastroenterology Unit, University Hospital of Modena, Department of Medical Specialities, University of Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Sith SiramolpiwatDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Yoji IshizuDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
Kathleen P IsmondDivision of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Lucian BeerDivision of General and Paediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Rafael PaternostroDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Simone Di ColaDepartment of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Jia LuoDepartment of Geriatrics, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Xicheng District, Beijing, China.
Puneeta TandonDivision of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Elliot B TapperDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Ahmed Ba-SsalamahDivision of General and Paediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Thomas ReibergerDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Manuela MerliDepartment of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Jidong JiaLiver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Beijing Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine on Liver Cirrhosis, National Clinical Research Center of Digestive Diseases, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Annalisa BerzigottiDepartment for Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Cristina RipollInternal Medicine IV, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-9704-4741
Susana G RodriguesDepartment for Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-3261-2795

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSarcopenia and frailty have a negative prognostic impact in patients with decompensated cirrhosis; however, the impact of these conditions on the prognosis of compensated cirrhosis is unknown. We performed a systematic review to assess the effect of sarcopenia and frailty on decompensation in patients with compensated cirrhosis.

methodsWe searched PubMed and Embase for English-language studies published up to April 2025. The primary outcome was decompensation and the secondary outcome was mortality. We included studies with available data on patients with compensated cirrhosis.

resultsEight studies reporting data on sarcopenia (n=829 patients) and 4 studies (n=552 patients) assessing frailty were included in this systematic review. The prevalence of sarcopenia varied from 8% to 63%. Computed tomography at the L3 level and liver frailty index were the methods most commonly used to evaluate sarcopenia and frailty, respectively. Sarcopenia in patients compensated at inclusion was associated with an increased risk of decompensation in some studies, but not in all. When selected patients with compensated cirrhosis and no previous decompensation were studied, most studies showed no increased risk for first decompensation within the follow-up (12-61 mo). Two studies out of the 4 reported a higher risk of decompensation and mortality in patients with frailty.

conclusionsWe reported that sarcopenia was prevalent in patients with compensated cirrhosis, but, in most studies, did not lead to an independent, increased risk of first decompensation and death. Well-designed, prospective multicenter studies are essential to assess the association between sarcopenia, frailty, and the risk of first decompensation.

Indexed as

FrailtyLiver CirrhosisSarcopeniaHumansPrevalencePrognosisascitesbody compositionfrailmuscle wastingprognosis

Identifiers

PMID41118290
PMCPMC12548989

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.