Effect of muscle depletion on survival in peripheral arterial occlusive disease: Quality over quantity

Patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) have a poor prognosis and a high prevalence of comorbidity. This study investigated whether sarcopenia and/or myosteatosis negatively affect long-term survival in patients with PAOD.

This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study of 686 consecutive patients diagnosed and treated for PAOD and who underwent computed tomography scanning. Cross-sectional muscle measurements were obtained at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Optimal stratification was used to define sex-specific and body mass index-specific cutoff values for sarcopenia and myosteatosis, respectively. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the effect of sarcopenia and myosteatosis on overall survival.

Sarcopenia was associated with age, body mass index, myosteatosis, malignancy, congestive heart failure, hemodialysis, and Fontaine 4 classification. Myosteatosis was associated with age, sarcopenia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, malignancy, congestive heart failure, ischemic stroke, and Fontaine 4 classification. Sarcopenia (hazard ratio [HR], 2.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.05-3.86; P < .001) and myosteatosis (HR, 4.13; 95% CI, 3.03-5.63; P < .001) were both associated with reduced survival in univariable analysis. When adjusted for other prognostic markers, myosteatosis (HR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.46-2.99; P < .001) was still associated with lower overall survival in the multivariable model, but sarcopenia (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 0.97-2.01; P = .073) was not.

Muscle depletion is independently associated with a poorer overall survival in patients with PAOD. Myosteatosis is a stronger predictor than sarcopenia, which indicates that quality is more important than quantity. Results should be interpreted with caution owing to missing data on medication usage.