Takeaway
- Reduced hand grip strength (HGS) is associated with an increased mortality risk in patients with liver cirrhosis.
Why this matters
- This bedside measurement is fast, noninvasive, inexpensive, and practical, and can be performed repeatedly in patients with cirrhosis to assess nutritional status and mortality risk.
Study design
- Researchers reviewed the health records of consecutive patients admitted to a single hospital with cirrhosis (N=563; age ≥18 years; 375 men), identifying mortality predictors using sex-stratified multivariate analysis.
- Funding: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Key results
- Researchers found that HGS, not body composition, was independently associated with mortality:
- Men: HR, 0.96 (P<.01).
- Women: HR, 0.91 (P=.02).
- Low HGS in both men (HGS <30 kg) and women (HGS <15 kg) was associated with higher mortality risk:
- Men: HR, 2.09 (P<.001).
- Women: HR, 2.14 (P=.02).
- HGS allowed for stratification by sex-specific mortality risk in patients with cirrhosis, regardless of comorbid hepatocellular carcinoma or cirrhosis severity.
Limitations
- The study was retrospective and single-center, and did not analyze some sex-specific differences.
References
References