Patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) reported more muscle loss, itching and malnutrition compared with people with other liver disorders, according to a study published recently in Digestive and Liver Disease.
Itching, malnutrition and sarcopenia, a type of muscle loss linked to aging, were statistically significantly more common among people with PBC—even those with initial mild fibrosis—than among those with other chronic liver disorders surveyed, the study found.
“Cholestasis-related malabsorption and pruritus [itching] mainly burden PBC” patients’ quality of life, the study said. Cholestasis occurs when the flow of bile from the liver is either slowed or blocked.
Read more about PBC signs and symptoms
Micronutrient absorption affected systemic oxidative stress imbalance (SOS-I), which is recognized as having an effect on itch pathways and muscle metabolism, which differentiated PBC from other liver disorders, the study reported.
“A poor [quality of life] was more represented in PBC individuals simultaneously showing sarcopenia, severe pruritus, and SOS-I,” the authors said. “In PBC, cholestasis promotes sarcopenia, malnutrition, and pruritus, dramatically impacting the [quality of life] via SOS-I.”
The study looked at patients with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and other conditions. Following a three-month prescribed diet and exercise regimen, the investigators obtained biochemical, nutritional, liver stiffness and clinical data from all participants.
Patients with PBC who had sarcopenia and severe cholestasis presented with lower micronutrient levels—vitamin D in particular—compared with those with MASLD, HBV, and HCV.
