Abstract
We aimed to compare the predictive capacity of malnutrition, sarcopenia, and malnutrition combined with sarcopenia for mortality in nursing home residents. We conducted a prospective study in four nursing homes in China. Nutrition status and sarcopenia were measured according to the new European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) definition and SARC-F, respectively. The study population was divided into four groups: malnutrition with sarcopenia (MN+/SA+), malnutrition without sarcopenia (MN+/SA-), sarcopenia without malnutrition (MN-/SA+), and normal nutrition without sarcopenia (MN-/SA-). The participants were followed up for 12 months. We included 329 participants. Thirty-eight participants (11.6%) had MN+/SA+, 38 participants (11.6%) had MN+/SA-, and 93 participants (28.3%) had MN-/SA+. The 1-year mortality was 18.3%, 21.5%, 18.4%, and 47.4% in the MN-/SA-, MN-/SA+, MN+/SA-, and MN+/SA+ groups, respectively. Compared to participants with MN-/SA-, participants with MN+/SA+ were at a significantly higher risk of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 3.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.71-5.95); however, MN-/SA+ (adjusted HR: 1.24, 95% CI 0.69-2.22) and MN+/SA- (adjusted HR: 0.95, 95% CI 0.41-2.19) were not predictors of mortality. In conclusion, the coexistence of malnutrition and sarcopenia is a significant predictor of mortality in a study population of Chinese nursing home residents.