Poor dietary intake is assumed to be a major causal factor in the maln
utrition observed in patients with chronic liver disease. However, the
dietary habits of this patient population are poorly documented. The
aim of this study was to assess weighed dietary intakes in hospitalize
d patients with chronic liver disease. Twenty patients with liver dise
ase (10 men, 10 women; mean +/- SD age, 46.2 +/- 10.9 yr, mean weight.
63.3 +/- 8.0 kg, mean body mass index, 22.1 +/- 2.8 kg/m(2); 10 alcoh
olic, 10 nonalcoholic) and 20 general medical patients, matched for ag
e and sex, underwent a 3-d weighed assessment of dietary intake. No si
gnificant differences were observed in food intake or dietary composit
ion between the patients with Liver disease and the hospital controls.
Patients with alcoholic liver disease showed significant differences
in dietary energy, protein, and carbohydrate intakes compared with the
patients with nonalcoholic liver disease when data were expressed in
absolute terms but not when expressed relative to body weight; dietary
composition was similar in both groups. Overall, patients with chroni
c liver disease, especially those with alcohol-related injury, consume
a diet comparable with that ingested by other hospital patients both
in amount and composition.