Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is associated with significant alterations in body composition, including malnutrition due to insufficient intake, chronic inflammation and increased energy expenditure. Identifying the prevalence of malnutrition and the risk of sarcopenia in patients with HF is crucial to improve clinical outcomes. Material and methods: This cross-sectional, single-center, observational study involved 121 outpatients diagnosed with HF. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and the Subjective Global Rating (SGA). Sarcopenia was screened using the SARC-F (Strength, Assistance in walking, Rise from a chair, Climb stairs, Falls) questionnaire and diagnosed based on the European Working Group in Older People (EWGSOP2) criteria and functionality with the Short Performance Battery (SPPB) test. Malnutrition was diagnosed according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. Results: The study found that 10.7% had cardiac cachexia and 45.4% of deceased patients had been in this condition (p = 0.002). Moderate-to-high risk of malnutrition was identified in 37.1%, 23.9%, and 31.4% of patients according to the MNA, MUST, and SGA tests, respectively. According to the GLIM criteria, 56.2% of patients were malnourished. Additionally, 24.8% of patients had a high probability of sarcopenia, and 57.8% were not autonomous according to SPPB. Patients with less than 30% quadriceps muscle contraction were at a high risk of sarcopenia. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of malnutrition among outpatients with HF, which is associated with worse prognosis, increased risk of sarcopenia, and greater frailty. These findings underscore the importance of early nutritional and functional assessments in this population to improve clinical outcomes.

Background: Disease-related malnutrition and sarcopenia are prevalent conditions in gastrointestinal cancer patients, whose early diagnosis is essential to establish a nutritional intervention that contributes to preventing adverse outcomes and improving the disease prognosis. Phase angle (PhA), rectus femoris cross-sectional area (RFCSA) and rectus femoris thickness (RF-Y-axis) are considered effort-independent markers of muscle mass, strength and functionality. These markers are influenced by the metabolic changes in cancer patients but have not been fully validated in this population. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the potential utility of PhA, RFCSA and RF-Y-axis in predicting malnutrition and sarcopenia in patients with esophagogastric cancer (EGC). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of patients diagnosed with EGC. PhA was obtained using bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), along with ASMMI. RFCSA and RF-Y-axis were measured via nutritional ultrasound (NU®). Muscle capacity was assessed using handgrip strength (HGS), and functionality by applying the Short-Physical-Performance-Battery (SPPB). Malnutrition and sarcopenia were determined according to GLIM and EWGSOP2 criteria, respectively. Results: Out of the 35 patients evaluated, 82.8% had malnutrition and 51.4% sarcopenia. RFCSA(r=0.582) and RF-Y-axis(r=0.602) showed significant, moderate correlations with ASMMI, unlike PhA(r=0.439), which displayed a weak correlation with this parameter. However, PhA (OR=0.167,CI 95%:0.047-0.591,p=0.006), RFCSA (OR=0.212, CI 95%:0.074-0.605,p=0.004), and RF-Y-axis (OR=0.002,CI 95%:0.000-0.143,p=0.004) all showed good predicting ability for sarcopenia in the crude models, but only RF-Y-axis was able to explain malnutrition in the regression model (OR=0.002, CI 95%:0.000-0.418,p=0.023). Conclusion: RF-Y-axis emerged as the only independent predictor of both malnutrition and sarcopenia in this study, likely due to its stronger correlation with ASMMI compared to PhA and RFCSA.