life, the disability of labor, poorer physical activity, and need
for frequent hospitalizations in patients with LC.
In terms of diagnostic methods for LC, several noninvasive
methods have been developed and these methods
have been used for predicting prognosis in patients with LC;
these include serum markers such as aspartate aminotransferase
to platelet ratio index (APRI), FIB-4 index, aspartate
aminotransferase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
ratio, or modalities such as acoustic radiation force impulse
(ARFI), transient elastography (TE), and magnetic resonance
elastography [6–13].
On the other hand, subjects with LC often have proteinenergy
malnutrition (PEM) and poor physical activity. These
conditions often result in sarcopenia, which is the loss of
skeletal muscle volume and increased muscle weakness.
Recent studies have demonstrated that PEM and sarcopenia
are predictive factors for poorer survival in patients with
LC [14]. Based on these backgrounds, several methods
for evaluating nutritional status in patients with chronic
liver disease such as indirect calorimetry, dual-energy Xray
absorptiometry (DEXA), bioimpedance analysis (BIA),