Clinical burden of physical frailty in patients evaluated for liver transplantation: A retrospective cohort study

Table 1 Demographic and clinical characteristics of the total cohort, n (%)

Characteristic	Study population (n = 266)
Age (years)	58 (50-63)
Sex, male	200 (75)
MELD score	16 (11-19)
Dry weight (kg)	83 (72-99)
BMI kg/m2 [BMI categories (based on estimated dry weight1)]	27 (24-32)
Underweight (≤ 18.49 kg/m2)	7 (3)
Healthy (18.5-24.9 kg/m2)	82 (30)
Overweight (25-29.9 kg/m2)	88 (33)
Obese (≥ 30 kg/m2)	89 (33)
Aetiology of liver disease
Alcohol-related liver disease	103 (39)
Chronic viral hepatitis (HCV/HBV)	61 (23)
MASLD	46 (17)
PBC/PSC	36 (13)
AIH	6 (2)
Cryptogenic	4 (2)
Other2	10 (4)
Those with hepatocellular carcinoma	73 (27)
Type two diabetes	64 (24)
Ascites present	91 (34)
SGA score
A (well nourished)	179 (67)
B (moderately malnourished)	78 (30)
C (severely malnourished)	9 (3)
Frailty
LFI	3.7 (3.3-4.1)
Robust (< 3.2)	50 (19)
Pre-frail (3.2-4.5)	179 (67)
Frail (> 4.5)	37 (14)
Liver transplant recipients3	144 (54)

¹Dry weight was estimated from post-paracentesis weight if available, otherwise by or by subtracting 5%, 10%, or 15% of total body weight for mild, moderate or severe ascites, respectively as previously described.

²Other causes of liver disease: Hepatic sarcoidosis, alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency, Budd-Chiari cirrhosis.

³Two patients still awaiting a liver transplantation at end of study.

An additional 5% was subtracted for bilateral pedal oedema. MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; BMI: Body mass index; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; MASLD: Metabolic-dysfunction associated fatty liver disease; PSC: Primary sclerosing cholangitis; PBC: Primary biliary cirrhosis; AIH: Auto-immune hepatitis; SGA: Subjective global assessment; LFI: Liver frailty index.