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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2014; 20(23): 7223-7230
Published online Jun 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i23.7223
Comorbidity in cirrhosis
Peter Jepsen
Peter Jepsen, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Peter Jepsen, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Author contributions: Jepsen P solely contributed to the manuscript.
Supported by A grant from the Danish Council for Independent Research under the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation No. 10-081838/FSS
Correspondence to: Peter Jepsen, MD, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus Sygehus Nørrebrogade, Nørrebrogade 44, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. pj@dce.au.dk
Telephone: +45-78-463892 Fax: +45-78-462860
Received: October 28, 2014
Revised: January 7, 2014
Accepted: April 5, 2014
Published online: June 21, 2014
Processing time: 236 Days and 8.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Cirrhosis patients’ comorbidities are their other diseases than cirrhosis. They can increase mortality and are therefore clinically important. They are also an important source of confounding in epidemiologic studies. Comorbidity scoring systems have been developed as tools to measure the cirrhosis patient’s total burden of comorbidity, and they are useful in the clinic and for epidemiologic studies. Studies of individual comorbid diseases can provide insight into the interactions between cirrhosis and other diseases and thus into the pathophysiology of cirrhosis. This article reviews the literature on comorbidity in cirrhosis.