Bone loss in chronic liver diseases: Could healthy liver be a requirement for good bone health?

Core Tip

Core Tip: Secondary osteoporosis and increased bone fragility are frequently overlooked complications in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Recent publications agree that CLD-induced bone fragility depends on the etiology, duration, and stage of liver disease, but certain ambiguities are still present. Importantly, etiopathogenetic mechanisms leading to CLD-induced bone loss are still insufficiently clarified. Given that available clinical tools for fracture risk assessment are not entirely reliable, evaluating small-length structural bone properties could improve understanding of the multifactorial nature of bone fragility in CLD patients, which could set a base for the development of more effective preventive and therapeutic strategies.