studies

HEPATOLOGY, VOLUME 62, NUMBER 1 (SUPPL) AASLD ABSTRACTS 827A
patients had ascites, 14 had encephalopathy, and 10 had
varices. The accelerometer data showed that liver transplant
candidates performed remarkably little daily physical activity
(Table). There was no correlation between MELD and physical
activity. Additionally, physical activity was not different
based on the presence of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy,
esophageal varices, or etiology of liver disease. Mean moderate-vigorous
physical activity was correlated with right (r=0.51,
p=0.017) and left (r=0.63, p=0.002) hand-grip strength.
There was no correlation between physical activity and six-minute
walk test distance. CONCLUSION: Liver transplant candidates
with a relatively low mean MELD score were extremely
sedentary, averaging only 5 minutes/day of physical activity.
Moderate-vigorous activity was associated with greater grip
strength. The lack of physical activity and large amount of time
spent sedentary offer a potential for intervention to improve
fitness in liver transplant candidates.
76%, P=0.32, HR [95% CI]: 0.85 [0.60-1.2]). However, at
MELD