Find out the percentage of people with liver disease who have bad body odor.

What percentage of patients with liver disease have the bad odor?

What’s really odd is that when I do a search on “causes of change in body odor” or “causes of foul body odor,” liver disease is on the list.

But when I do extensive searches on “symptoms of liver disease,” not one of these sites, including esteemed sites like Mayoclinic.com, lists body odor as a symptom.

So just what is that percentage?

“It’s a small percentage, less than 10%, maybe even less than five percent,” says Jeffrey Fine, MD, chief of gastroenterology at the Medical Surgical Clinic of Irving.

“A patient will only have that distinctive odor when they’re in liver failure, and most patients with liver disease do not progress that far.”

Why is the percentage so small?

Dr. Fine says, “We can speculate that this is because the only liver disease patients who experience this symptom are the ones in liver failure and that is a small percentage of patients.”

Dr. Fine has been in practice for over 30 years and specializes in digestive health, integrative medicine and food sensitivities.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer. 

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Top image: Shutterstock/SvetaZi