Coexistence of sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss is a powerful predictor of mortality in older patients with heart failure

Aim: We examined whether the addition of self-reported weight loss improves the accuracy of prediction of mortality caused by sarcopenia in heart failure (HF) patients.

Methods: We enrolled 477 HF patients (mean age 77 years) who received combined assessment of sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. If the patients answered "yes" to the question "have you lost 2 kg or more in the past 6 months?", they were diagnosed as having self-reported weight loss.

Results: Sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss coexisted in 32% of patients. During a median follow-up period of 763 days, 65 patients (15%) died. Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significantly higher rate of mortality in HF patients with both sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss than in HF patients with sarcopenia alone. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that the coexistence of sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss is an independent predictor of mortality in HF patients. Inclusion of the coexistence of sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss in the baseline model consisting of established prognostic markers significantly improved both the net reclassification index and the integrated discrimination index.

Conclusions: The coexistence of sarcopenia and self-reported weight loss is a powerful predictor of mortality in HF patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 95-101.