BACKGROUND: Physical activity has been associated with improved recovery time after transplantation. Handgrip strength has been related to post-transplant outcomes.
AIM: To evaluate predictors of physical activity and grip strength in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplant evaluation.
METHODS: Single center, prospective analysis.
RESULTS: A hundred patients were evaluated (54% male, mean age 53 ± 9). Common etiologies of liver disease were non-alcoholic hepatitis (27%), hepatitis C (22%), and alcoholic liver disease (21%). Mean MELD score was 13.5. Forty one percent had a history of smoking. Ninety-three patients completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The median total physical activity score of 33 MET-min/weeks. The mean total grip strength was 62.1 ± 22lb. Total grip strength was found to be an independent predictor of low-moderate physical activity (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.4-16.2, p=0.038) and smoking was the only significant factor associated with reduced grip strength (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.4-8, p=0.005).
CONCLUSIONS: End-Stage Liver Disease patients undergoing liver transplant evaluation have reduced total physical activity by IPAQ. Total Grip Strength was found to be a significant predictor of low-moderate physical activity in patients with cirrhosis. Smoking is a risk factor for reduced grip strength, an important indicator of muscle wasting in cirrhotics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Funded by the Center for Muscle Biology at the University of Kentucky.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/tim_uhl/118/
Published in Clinical Transplantation, v. 29, issue 11, p. 958-964.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Dela Cruz AC, Vilchez V, Kim S, Barnes B, Ravinuthala A, Zanni A, Galuppo R, Sourianarayanane A, Patel T, Maynard E, Shah MB, Daily MF, Uhl T, Esser K, Gedaly R. (2015). A Prospective Analysis of Factors Associated with Decreased Physical Activity in Patients with Cirrhosis Undergoing Transplant Evaluation. Clinical Transplantation, 29:11, 958-964, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ctr.12602. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.