Nutrition in cirrhosis and chronic liver disease.

Nutrition has not been a primary focus of many medical conditions despite its importance in the development and the severity of these diseases. This is certainly the case with nutrition and end-stage liver disease despite the well-established association of nutritional deficiencies and increased rates of complications and mortality in cirrhosis. This review provides an overview of nutrition in chronic liver disease with an emphasis on its pathogenesis as well as ways to assess nutritional status and intervene in an effort to improve nutrition.