Welch N, Dasarathy J, Runkana A, et al. - In view of the adverse effects of sarcopenia or skeletal muscle loss on cirrhosis outcomes, researchers sought to analyze the impact of liver disease aetiology on severity or muscle loss rate. For this investigation, they assessed consecutive, well-characterized adult patients with cirrhosis due to viral hepatitis (VH), alcoholic liver disease (ALD) or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-diseased controls with at least two temporally distinct abdominal CT scans. Findings revealed that there were 20 deaths over 62.7 ± 41.3 months among 83 cirrhotics. Among cirrhotics, ALD patients had the lowest initial muscle area and the most rapid rate of decline in the muscle area. Liver disease aetiology is an independent risk factor for sarcopenia, with the highest muscle loss rate observed in ALD. Survival in cirrhosis was determined by initial muscle mass, muscle loss rate, and model for end-stage liver disease score.