Development and validation of a predictive model assessing the risk of sarcopenia in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Sarcopenia is linked to an unfavorable prognosis in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Early identification and treatment of sarcopenia are clinically significant. This study aimed to create and validate a nomogram for predicting sarcopenia risk in RA patients, providing clinicians with a reliable tool for the early identification of high-risk patients.

Patients with RA diagnosed between August 2022 and January 2024 were included and randomized into training and validation sets in a 7:3 ratio. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression analysis and multifactorial logistic regression analysis were used to screen the risk variables for RA-associated muscle loss and to create an RA sarcopenia risk score. The predictive performance and clinical utility of the risk model were evaluated by plotting the receiver operating characteristic curve and calculating the area under the curve (AUC), along with the calibration curve and clinical decision curve (DCA).

A total of 480 patients with RA were included in the study (90% female, with the largest number in the 45-59 age group, about 50%). In this study, four variables (body mass index, disease duration, hemoglobin, and grip strength) were included to construct a nomogram for predicting RA sarcopenia. The training and validation set AUCs were 0.915 (95% CI: 0.8795-0.9498) and 0.907 (95% CI: 0.8552-0.9597), respectively, proving that the predictive model was well discriminated. The calibration curve showed that the predicted values of the model were basically in line with the actual values, demonstrating good calibration. The DCA indicated that almost the entire range of patients with RA can benefit from this novel prediction model, suggesting good clinical utility.

This study developed and validated a nomogram prediction model to predict the risk of sarcopenia in RA patients. The model can assist clinicians in enhancing their ability to screen for RA sarcopenia, assess patient prognosis, make early decisions, and improve the quality of life for RA patients.