Association Between Nutritional Risk and Physical Function Improvements in Cardiovascular Disease Patients With...

We investigated the association between nutritional risk and improvement in physical function during hospitalization among patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly those with heart failure, admitted to a community-based care ward.

We retrospectively analyzed 84 patients who underwent cardiac rehabilitation in a community-based care ward between July 2023 and May 2025. Nutritional risk on admission was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF). Patients were classified into 2 groups: non-malnourished (normal/at risk; MNA-SF ≥8, n=43) and malnourished (MNA-SF ≤7, n=41). The primary outcome was no improvement in physical function (change in Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) [∆SPPB] ≤0). Sensitivity analysis used an alternative definition (∆SPPB ≤2). The association between malnutrition and outcome was analyzed using modified Poisson regression adjusted for propensity score. Overall, 21 patients (25.0%) showed no improvement in physical function (∆SPPB ≤0), whereas 53 (63.1%) showed no improvement using the alternative definition. Malnutrition was not associated with no improvement in physical function in the primary analysis (adjusted risk ratio: 1.16; 95% cconfidence interval [CI]: 0.52-2.64; P=0.71), whereas a significant association was observed in sensitivity analysis (adjusted risk ratio: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.19-4.42; P<0.001).

Nutritional risk was not associated with no improvement in physical function in the primary analysis, although an association was observed in sensitivity analyses using the alternative definition.