{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T17:29:30Z","timestamp":1772645370610,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772582400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Liver cirrhosis is a systemic disease characterized by progressive hepatic dysfunction and frequent decompensation events. Conventional prognostic models such as the Child\u2013Turcotte\u2013Pugh (CTP) and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores primarily reflect liver-specific severity and may not fully capture the multidimensional vulnerability of patients with cirrhosis. Frailty, a syndrome reflecting reduced physiological reserve, has emerged as a potential prognostic marker in this population. Methods: In this prospective single-center cohort study, 134 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled between March and October 2021 and followed at three-month intervals. Frailty was assessed at baseline using the Fried Frailty Index (FFI). Patients were categorized as fit\/prefrail or frail. The primary endpoints were cirrhosis-related complications, unplanned hospitalizations, and all-cause mortality. Associations between frailty, its individual components, and clinical outcomes were evaluated. Results: Frailty was present in 41% of patients. Frail patients were older and had higher MELD and CTP scores. During follow-up, frailty was significantly associated with higher rates of ascites (p &lt; 0.001), hepatic encephalopathy (p &lt; 0.001), hepatorenal syndrome (p &lt; 0.001), spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (p = 0.01), and unplanned hospitalizations (p &lt; 0.001). Mortality occurred in 22% of frail patients compared with 3.8% in non-frail patients (p &lt; 0.001). Each frailty component, including reduced grip strength, slow gait speed, low physical activity, exhaustion, and unintentional weight loss, was independently associated with adverse outcomes. Conclusions: Frailty, as assessed by the Fried Frailty Index, is a strong predictor of complications, hospitalization, and mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis. Incorporating frailty assessment into routine clinical practice may improve risk stratification and guide long-term management strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15051943","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]],"date-time":"2026-03-04T13:11:36Z","timestamp":1772629896000},"page":"1943","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prognostic Significance of Frailty in Liver Cirrhosis Patients: A Prospective Single-Center Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4587-0726","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maral Martin","family":"M\u0131ldano\u011flu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, 34214 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Atilla","family":"Akp\u0131nar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroentrology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, 34098 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Koray","family":"Ko\u00e7han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroentrology, Faculty of Medicine, Biruni University, 34295 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0443-6966","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmet","family":"Bilici","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medipol University, 34214 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5528-830X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elmas","family":"Biberci Keskin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, 34396 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hakan","family":"\u015eent\u00fcrk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gastroentrology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Foundation University Medical Faculty Hospital, 34093 Istanbul, Turkey"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpg.2011.02.009","article-title":"Liver cirrhosis","volume":"25","author":"Pinzani","year":"2011","journal-title":"Best. 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