Sarcopenic Obesity Versus Nonobese Sarcopenia in Hemodialysis Patients: Differences in Nutritional Status, Quality of Life, and Clinical Outcomes

Objective

Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity (SO) are linked to unfavorable prognosis in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) populations. We tested whether nonobese sarcopenia and SO, as different stages of extreme protein-energy wasting, have different prognoses.

Methods

In this prospective observational study, 261 MHD patients were recruited from October 2010 to April 2012 and followed until October 2020. Two definitions were used to diagnose sarcopenia: the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People consensus and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium criteria. Obesity was determined as the percentage of total body fat, ≥27% for men and ≥38% for women. Data for all-cause and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, baseline nutrition markers, inflammation and oxidative stress, adipokines, body composition parameters, handgrip strength, and quality of life (QoL) scores were measured.

Results

According to European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People, 115 (44.1%) patients were sarcopenic and 120 (46.0%) according to FNIH definitions. Of them, 28.4% and 34.5% were SO, respectively. Higher levels of albumin, creatinine, uric acid, leptin, phase angle, better nutritional scores, and lower adiponectin levels characterized SO patients compared with nonobese sarcopenic patients regardless of indexing method. Better QoL scores were noted in SO compared with nonobese sarcopenic patients using the FNIH sarcopenia criteria. The hazard of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and first cardiovascular event for patients with SO was lower compared with the nonobese patients after multivariate adjustments. Statistical significance of these associations disappeared after including fat mass in multivariate models.

Conclusions

MHD patients with SO have better nutritional status and prognosis for cardiovascular events, all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, and possibly better QoL compared with nonobese sarcopenic MHD patients. The better prognosis appears to be entirely due to the excess fat, which is protective in sarcopenic MHD patients similar to that described in the entire MHD population.