Weight changes
Liver cirrhosis is also linked to nutrient malabsorption because there is something called portal hypertension. Portal circulation is an internal blood circulation between the gut and the liver, and when the liver is affected by cirrhosis it becomes resistant to the blood flow, and the resulting pressure works against the flow of blood and impairs the normal absorption of nutrients.
Additionally, patients feel gastrointestinal symptoms, and liver cirrhosis along with alcohol intake induces anorexia, which is the clinical name of appetite loss. Altogether, these changes promote weight loss and malnutrition as one of the most common outcomes of liver cirrhosis.
However, in some cases, patients gain weight instead because there’s massive fluid retention, especially in the abdominal cavity, and they might be increasing their water weight dramatically.