Malnutrition at Diagnosis Independently Predicts Mortality in Patients with Systemic Immunoglobulin Light-Chain Amyloidosis (AL)

ABSTRACT Rationale We have previously shown that malnutrition is associated with reduced survival in outpatients with immunoglobulin light-chain amyloidosis (AL). However, these findings were obtained in a mixed population of treated and untreated patients with different disease duration and in whom the Mayo Clinic cardiac staging system was not considered. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic role of nutritional status of AL patients at diagnosis. Methods One hundred and twenty eight consecutive newly diagnosed and previously untreated patients with AL were enrolled. Anthropometric, biochemical and clinical variables were measured. Results Prevalence of relevant unintentional weight loss (WL; ≥10% in 6 months), reduced body mass index (BMI; Conclusions In AL patients, malnutrition at diagnosis is a common comorbidity which negatively affects the prognosis, independently from cardiac stage, which is the most powerful survival determinant. Future research should systematically consider the role of nutritional status on clinical outcomes in AL and nutritional intervention trials are now urgently warranted. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.