Table 1.
Characteristics of the patients on hemodialysis according to sarcopenia status.
| Variables | All patients | No sarcopenia | Probable sarcopenia | Confirmed sarcopenia | Severe sarcopenia | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | 983 (100) | 729 (74.2) | 115 (11.7) | 88 (9.0) | 51 (5.2) | |
| Male | 595 (60.5) | 414 (56.8) | 81 (70.4) | 66 (75.0) | 34 (66.7) | 0.003 |
| Age (years) | 59 [47–69] | 56 [44–66] | 65 [56–74]a | 66 [57–72]a | 72 [68–80]a,b,c | < 0.001 |
| ≥ 60 years, n (%) | 475 (48.3) | 293 (40.2) | 77 (67.0) | 59 (67.0) | 46 (90.2) | < 0.001 |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||||
| White | 497 (50.6) | 336 (46.1) | 74 (64.3) | 52 (59.1) | 35 (70.0) | |
| Non-white | 485 (49.4) | 393 (53.9) | 41 (35.7) | 36 (40.9) | 15 (30.0) | |
| Comorbidities, n (%) | ||||||
| Diabetes | 407 (41.5) | 269 (36.9) | 60 (50.2) | 47 (53.4) | 31 (63.3) | < 0.001 |
| Hypertension | 814 (83.0) | 603 (82.8) | 97 (84.3) | 72 (81.8) | 42 (84.0) | 0.963 |
| Cancer | 48 (4.9) | 30 (4.1) | 8 (7.0) | 6 (6.9) | 4 (8.0) | 0.186 |
| COPD | 32 (3.3) | 16 (2.2) | 7 (6.1) | 6 (6.9) | 3 (6.0) | 0.008 |
| Heart failure | 152 (15.5) | 93 (12.8) | 31 (27.0) | 13 (14.9) | 15 (30.0) | < 0.001 |
| CAD | 174 (17.8) | 109 (15.0) | 27 (23.5) | 23 (26.4) | 15 (30.0) | < 0.001 |
| Neuropathies | 77 (7.8) | 52 (7.2) | 11 (9.6) | 7 (8.0) | 7 (14.0) | 0.314 |
| No. of comorbidities | 2 [1–3] | 2 [1–3] | 3 [2–4]a | 2 [2–3]a | 3 [2–4]a | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes as CKD etiology | 220 (22.7) | 144 (20.1) | 30 (26.3) | 30 (34.1) | 16 (32.0) | 0.005 |
| Electrolyte imbalances, n (%) | ||||||
| Hyponatremia (< 135.0 mEq/L) | 101 (10.3) | 76 (10.4) | 11 (9.6) | 7 (8.0) | 7 (13.7) | 0.740 |
| Hyperkalemia (> 5.0 mEq/L) | 486 (49.4) | 374 (51.3) | 48 (41.7) | 40 (45.5) | 24 (47.1) | 0.220 |
| Hyperphosphatemia (> 4.5 mg/dL) | 629 (64.0) | 482 (66.1) | 70 (60.9) | 57 (64.8) | 20 (39.2) | 0.001 |
| Hypocalcemia (< 8.5 mg/dL) | 321 (32.7) | 235 (32.2) | 43 (37.4) | 29 (33.0) | 14 (27.5) | 0.601 |
| Hypoalbuminemia (< 3.5 g/dL) | 104 (10.6) | 70 (9.6) | 14 (12.2) | 9 (10.2) | 11 (21.6) | 0.056 |
| Low iPTH (< 150 pg./mL) | 199 (20.2) | 142 (19.5) | 21 (18.3) | 20 (22.7) | 16 (31.4) | 0.039 |
| High iPTH (> 600 pg./mL) | 270 (27.5) | 218 (29.9) | 24 (20.9) | 21 (23.9) | 7 (13.7) | |
| Dialysis modality, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||||
| Conventional | 676 (68.8) | 520 (71.3) | 76 (66.7) | 61 (69.3) | 19 (37.3) | |
| Hemodiafiltration | 306 (31.2) | 209 (28.7) | 38 (33.3) | 27 (30.7) | 32 (62.7) | |
| Dialysis vintage (months) | 33 [14–66] | 34 [16–63] | 26 [10–71] | 29 [9–65] | 40 [14–83] | 0.168 |
| Weekly frequency, n (%) | ||||||
| Conventional (3 sessions) | 695 (70.7) | 518 (71.1) | 86 (74.8) | 63 (71.6) | 28 (54.9) | 0.067 |
| Short daily (≥ 4 sessions) | 288 (29.3) | 211 (28.9) | 29 (25.2) | 25 (28.4) | 23 (45.1) | |
| Vascular access, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||||
| Arteriovenous fistula | 673 (68.5) | 526 (72.2) | 69 (60.0) | 53 (60.2) | 25 (49.0) | |
| Catheter | 246 (25.0) | 152 (20.9) | 42 (36.5) | 29 (33.0) | 23 (45.1) | |
| Graft | 64 (6.5) | 51 (7.0) | 4 (3.5) | 6 (6.8) | 3 (5.9) | |
| Body composition | ||||||
| Body mass index (kg/m2)* | 25.0 [22.3–28.7] | 25.3 [22.6–28.9] | 26.8 [23.4–30.7]a | 22.9 [19.9–26.1]a,b | 23.3 [20.8–24.4]a,b | < 0.001 |
| Underweight, n (%) | 7 (0.7) | 5 (0.7) | 0 (0) | 2 (2.4) | 0 (0) | < 0.001 |
| Normal weight, n (%) | 445 (46.9) | 315 (44.9) | 40 (34.8) | 54 (65.9) | 36 (73.5) | |
| Overweight, n (%) | 318 (33.5) | 244 (34.8) | 41 (35.7) | 23 (28.0) | 10 (20.4) | |
| Obese, n (%) | 178 (18.8) | 138 (19.7) | 34 (29.6) | 3 (3.7) | 3 (6.1) | |
| Calf circumference (cm) | 34.5 [32.0–37.0] | 35.5 [32.5–37.5] | 36.0 [35.0–38.0]a | 29.2 [31.3–33.0]a,b | 29.0 [28.2–31.5]a,b | < 0.001 |
| Female | 33.5 [31.5–36.5] | 35.1 [32.0–37.0] | 35.1 [34.0–37.0]a | 30.5 [27.4–32.4]a,b | 29.0 [27.4–31.3]a,b | < 0.001 |
| Male | 35.0 [32.5–37.1] | 35.5 [33.5–38.0] | 36.5 [35.0–38.0]a | 31.5 [30.0–33.1]a,b | 30.0 [29.0–31.7]a,b | < 0.001 |
| Physical function | ||||||
| Handgrip strength (kg) | 26 [20–34] | 30 [24–38] | 18 [14–24]a | 20 [14–24]a | 14 [13–20]a | < 0.001 |
| Female | 22 [17–26] | 22 [20–26] | 12 [11–14]a | 13 [11–14]a | 13 [11–14]a | < 0.001 |
| Male | 32 [25–39] | 36 [30–40] | 22 [18–25]a | 22 [18–24]a | 18 [14–22]a | < 0.001 |
| Gait speed (m/s) | 1.10 [0.91–1.30] | 1.14 [0.98–1.33] | 1.00 [0.74–1.17]a | 1.09 [0.96–1.21] | 0.60 [0.39–0.74]a,b,c | < 0.001 |
| Female | 1.05 [0.86–1.24] | 1.08 [0.91–1.27] | 0.87 [0.65–1.05]a | 1.02 [0.90–1.15] | 0.73 [0.28–0.77]a,b,c | < 0.001 |
| Male | 1.14 [0.95–1.33] | 1.18 [1.03–1.38] | 1.05 [0.82–1.20]a | 1.10 [0.97–1.22] | 0.60 [0.40–0.69]a,b,c | < 0.001 |
| Five-time sit-to-stand (seconds) | 12.2 [9.8–15.4] | 11.7 [9.4–14.8] | 13.7 [11.0–17.1]a | 13.5 [11.1–16.1]a | 16.3 [13.1–22.2]a | < 0.001 |
| Female | 12.4 [10.1–16.0] | 12.1 [9.9–15.3] | 13.1 [10.3–17.7]a | 13.1 [11.4–17.5]a | 16.3 [11.6–24.6]a | < 0.001 |
| Male | 12.1 [9.5–15.1] | 11.5 [9.0–14.4] | 13.7 [11.2–17.0]a | 13.5 [10.9–16.0]a | 16.9 [13.1–21.0]a | < 0.001 |
| Physically active, n (%) | 258 (26.2) | 213 (29.2) | 25 (21.7) | 14 (15.9) | 6 (11.8) | 0.002 |
CAD, coronary artery disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CKD, chronic kidney disease; iPTH, intact parathyroid hormone. *For the classification of body mass index, imputed data were not considered. a–cIndicate significant differences compared to the no sarcopenia, probable sarcopenia, and confirmed sarcopenia groups, respectively.