Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Are Associated with Sarcopenia in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract Sarcopenia is associated with the prognosis of patients with hepatic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to clarify the composition of blood fatty acids and the association between fatty acids and sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In this single center-retrospective study, 414 patients were enrolled. The skeletal muscle index was measured by a transverse computed tomography scan image at the third lumbar vertebra. The cutoff value for sarcopenia followed the criteria for sarcopenia of the Japan Society of Hepatology. The concentrations of fatty acids were measured by gas-chromatography. Of each fatty acid fraction, only omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids showed a significant correlation with skeletal muscle index (R = 0.15, p = 0.0026). In the multivariate analysis, the level of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was an independent variable associated with sarcopenia (odds ratio (95% CI): 0.9946 (0.9915–0.9977), p = 0.0004). N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were lower in patients with sarcopenia when the patient backgrounds were aligned using propensity score matching. These results showed an association between sarcopenia and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. We believe this study will contribute to the research of nutritional therapy or fatty acid-supplementation therapy for sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.