Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of liver cirrhosis patients regarding dietary nutrition

TL;DR

This study found that liver cirrhosis patients have limited knowledge and poor dietary practices, suggesting a need for better nutritional education.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the KAP of liver cirrhosis patients and highlights the role of knowledge in influencing dietary behavior.

Findings

Patients showed limited knowledge and suboptimal attitudes toward dietary nutrition.

Knowledge directly influenced attitudes and practices, but attitudes did not significantly affect practices.

Targeted nutritional education is needed to improve dietary self-management in cirrhosis patients.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to dietary nutrition among patients with liver cirrhosis.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at July 2025 at The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. Participants were patients clinically diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire that included items on demographic information, alongside nutritional knowledge, attitudes toward dietary management, and self-reported dietary behaviors.

A total of 450 valid responses were obtained, yielding a response rate of 97.19%. Among the respondents, 318 (70.7%) were male, 233 (51.8%) had a body mass index (BMI) within the normal range, and 127 (28.2%) had been living with cirrhosis for more than 3 years. The knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 10.96 ± 3.12 (possible range: 0–26), 21.94 ± 2.94 (possible range: 8–40), and 26.52 ± 4.85 (possible range: 8–40), respectively. The structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that knowledge had direct effects on attitude (β = 0.630, p < 0.001) and practice (β = 1.173, p < 0.001). However, neither the direct effect of attitude on practice nor the indirect effect of knowledge on practice was significant.

Individuals diagnosed with liver cirrhosis demonstrated limited knowledge, suboptimal attitudes, and insufficient dietary practices related to nutrition. Given these findings, targeted nutritional education should be integrated into routine clinical care to support behavior change and improve dietary self-management in this population.

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