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Risk factors associated with malnutrition in elderly patients with chronic heart failure
Jianfeng Long1, Limin Deng1, Jiandong Zhang2
1Department of Clinical Nutrition, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
Medicine
|July 18, 2026
Summary
Malnutrition affects 17.7% of elderly patients with chronic heart failure. Key predictors include older age, lower BMI, higher NYHA class, elevated CRP, COPD, reduced eGFR, and higher NT-proBNP levels.
Area of Science:
- Geriatrics
- Cardiology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Malnutrition is prevalent in elderly patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).
- Identifying clinical determinants is crucial for early nutritional risk stratification and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify clinical factors associated with malnutrition in elderly patients with CHF.
- To develop a predictive model for nutritional risk in this population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective observational study of 203 elderly CHF patients (≥65 years).
- Malnutrition diagnosed using Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria.
- Logistic regression analysis to identify independent predictors of malnutrition.
Main Results:
- 17.7% of patients were malnourished.
- Independent predictors of malnutrition included older age, lower BMI, higher NYHA class, elevated C-reactive protein, COPD, reduced eGFR, and higher NT-proBNP.
- The predictive model demonstrated good discriminatory performance (AUC=0.902).
Conclusions:
- Older age, lower BMI, advanced heart failure, inflammation, comorbidities like COPD, impaired renal function, and elevated NT-proBNP are key determinants of malnutrition in elderly CHF patients.
- The developed model shows potential for nutritional risk stratification in this vulnerable group.
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