Utility of the nutritional screening in predicting adverse outcome of patients with overweight/obesity and acute heart failure: Undernutrition, obesity, and acute heart failure

Abstract Background Undernutrition is a negative predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). Despite the survival advantage of elevated body mass index (BMI) in patients with HF, BMI does not necessarily reflect a favorable nutritional status. In the present study, we investigated the clinical impact of nutritional screening in patients with HF and overweight/obesity. Methods We examined the data from 170 patients with overweight or obesity status (defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) who admitted for acute HF. Their controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score was calculated on admission. The CONUT score is regarded as an index of the nutritional status. Results The median duration of follow-up was 1096 days (interquartile range, 805–1096 days). Undernutrition was identified in 66.5% of the patients. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that patients with undernutrition had a higher incidence of all-cause death and readmission due to HF than those without undernutrition. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the CONUT score, but not BMI and the geriatric nutritional risk index, was independently correlated with poor prognosis. Conclusions Undernutrition is highly prevalent and independently predicts poor outcomes in patients with overweight/obesity and acute HF.