ABSTRACT
Disease .......................................................................................................... 274 18.5 Malnutrition in Virus-Related Liver Cirrhosis: Magnitude of the
Problem ......................................................................................................... 277 18.6 Therapeutic Role of Nutrition on Chronic Viral Liver Disease ................... 279
18.6.1 Chronic Hepatitis .............................................................................. 279 18.6.2 Liver Cirrhosis ..................................................................................280
18.7 Summary Points ........................................................................................... 282 References .............................................................................................................. 283
There has been an increasing interest in the role of diet in virus-related liver disease. In patients chronically affected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, some nutritional aspects are considered factors that can increase the risk of progression of liver disease, promoting or accelerating the course to the end stages. Overweight and obesity seem to inuence this clinical course negatively, and protein-energy malnutrition, a frequent nding in patients with liver cirrhosis, represents a risk factor inuencing survival [1]. The correction of these factors has practical consequences because it can improve the quality of life of these patients and of their families and reduce the social costs of chronic viral liver disease.
