Sarcopenia associated with liver diseases and biliary tract

Sarcopenia is considered primary when it is associated with age, and secondary when it is associated with diseases. The decrease in skeletal muscle mass during age-related sarcopenia occurs gradually and has gender differentiation: it is more pronounced in men than in women. Skeletal muscle mass loss has been found to be approximately 5% over 10 years in older adults. In disease-associated sarcopenia, the rate of skeletal muscle mass loss does not follow a linear trend: the percentage of muscle mass loss exceeds the level noted in age-related sarcopenia and increases exponentially in later stages of the disease. Sarcopenia resulting from liver disease is one example of the formation of secondary sarcopenia. The purpose of this review is to present current literature data on the relationship between sarcopenia and liver diseases, taking into account the characteristics of pathogenesis, clinical presentation and diagnostic methods. The purpose of this review is to present current literature data regarding the relationship between sarcopenia and liver diseases, taking into account the characteristics of pathogenesis, clinical picture and diagnostic methods.