Sarcopenia and frailty: An in-depth analysis of the pathophysiology and effect on liver transplant candidates

Table 3 Commonly used computed tomography-based cut-off values for sarcopenia diagnosis at the L3 vertebral level

Ref.	Study population	Cut-off for males (cm²/m²)	Cut-off for females (cm²/m²)	Key considerations
Carey et al[25], 2017	Patients with cirrhosis	< 50	< 39	Developed for pre-liver transplant evaluation; validated against DXA-derived ALMI
Prado et al[26], 2008	Oncology patients	< 52.4	< 38.5	Derived from cancer cohorts; used broadly in nutritional and body composition studies
Montano-Loza et al[27], 2014	Liver transplant candidates	< 50	< 39	Consistent with Carey et al[25]; widely cited in hepatology for transplant risk stratification
Martin et al[73], 2013	Cancer patients (BMI-adjusted)	< 43 (BMI < 25)/< 53 (BMI ≥ 25)	< 41	Incorporates BMI to adjust thresholds; primarily used in oncology

DXA: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; ALMI: Appendicular lean mass index; BMI: Body mass index.