Table 1.

Frailty, Sarcopenia, Malnutrition, and Cachexia

Abnormality	Definition	Comment
Frailty	A syndrome defined by diminished strength, endurance, and reduced physiological function that increases vulnerability for developing physical dependency and death1	Develops in advanced age and decades earlier in persons with chronic debilitating diseases such as cirrhosis and advanced heart, respiratory, and renal failure.
Sarcopenia	Loss of anatomic muscle mass4	Commonly observed in frailty and a highly prevalent problem in cirrhosis. Measured by segmentation analysis of cross‐sectional imaging (Fig. 2) or by whole‐body bioelectrical impedance. Impedance measurements depend on the assumption that muscle mass is a constant fraction of body water, which fails in cirrhosis with fluid overload.
Malnutrition	A state resulting from consumption of either inadequate or excessive nutrients including calories, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, or minerals	Frequently related to anorexia in patients with cirrhosis. Sarcopenic obesity is a state of malnutrition that regularly accompanies nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as an element of the metabolic syndrome.
Cachexia	Loss of lean tissue mass involving a loss of greater than 5% of body weight	Advanced starvation involving inadequate intake, absorption, or utilization of sufficient nutritional components to maintain homeostasis.