To determine whether the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), as a systemic inflammation index, predicts malnutrition risk during the early stages of cirrhosis. We conducted a single-center prospective cohort study, enrolling patients from June 2016 to September 2020. The patients underwent malnutrition risk assessments upon admission. The patients were classified into five clinical stages according to portal hypertension. The malnutrition risk was scored using the Royal Free Hospital-Nutritional Prioritizing Tool (RFH-NPT) and validated by the Nutritional Risk...