Micronutrient Deficiencies in Patients With Heart Failure: Relationships With Body Mass Index and Age

It is conceivable that lean patients (body mass index 18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)) with heart failure (HF) have low body weight due to low food consumption and that this may contribute to micronutrient deficiencies and to their poorer prognosis compared with overweight/obese patients. We hypothesized that lean patients have a greater number of inadequate micronutrient intakes (<50% of recommendations) than overweight/obese patients and that this also depends on age.

Lean (n = 15) and overweight/obese (n = 49) patients underwent 24-hour diet and physical activity recall interviews. Inadequate essential micronutrient intakes were ubiquitous (intakes of 13 ± 1 of 27 micronutrients were inadequate) and did not depend on race, status, or access to supermarkets. Younger (40-64 y) lean patients had inadequate intakes of 20 ± 2 micronutrients, which was more than the other weight/age subgroups (all P < .01). Physical activity levels did not differ across weight and age groups.

Patients with HF may be at risk of malnutrition due to numerous inadequate micronutrient intakes; younger lean patients may have an especially high risk. Future studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings and to investigate the possibility that incorporating a micronutrient-dense meal plan will improve patient outcomes.