Table 1.
Characteristics of the sample according to the presence of sarcopenia
| Normal (n = 111) | Sarcopenic (n = 25) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, n (%) | < 0.001 | ||
| Women | 24 (21.6) | 22 (88.0) | |
| Men | 87 (78.4) | 3 (12.0) | |
| Age, Md (IQR) | 58.0 (49.0, 67.0) | 67.0 (52.0, 70.5) | 0.038 |
| Age intervals, n (%) | 0.009 | ||
| < 65 | 79 (71.2) | 11 (44.0) | |
| ≥ 65 | 32 (28.8) | 14 (56.0) | |
| HF aetiology, n (%) | 0.040 | ||
| Dilated cardiomyopathy | 59 (54.6) | 13 (56.5) | |
| Ischaemic | 33 (30.6) | 5 (21.7) | |
| Myocarditis | 5 (4.6) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy* | 4 (3.7) | 5 (21.7) | |
| Others | 7 (6.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
| LVEF, %, M (SD) | 36.8 (12.9) | 42.3 (16.5) | 0.080 |
| LVEF categories, n (%) | 0.202 | ||
| HFrEF (< 40%) | 56 (51.9) | 10 (40.0) | |
| HFmrEF (40–50%) | 31 (28.7) | 6 (24.0) | |
| HFpEF (≥ 50%) | 21 (19.4) | 9 (36.0) | |
| NYHA classification, n (%) | 0.189 | ||
| Class I | 42 (38.5) | 5 (20.0) | |
| Class II | 49 (45.0) | 16 (64.0) | |
| Class III | 18 (16.5) | 4 (16.0) | |
| Medications, n (%) | |||
| ACE inhibitors | 87 (79.1) | 19 (76.0) | 0.734 |
| Beta blockers | 106 (96.4) | 23 (92.0) | 0.339 |
| Aldosterone antagonists | 77 (70.0) | 14 (56.0) | 0.178 |
| Statins | 77 (69.4) | 12 (48.0) | 0.042 |
| Furosemide | 37 (33.6) | 14 (56.0) | 0.037 |
| Incident myocardial infarction, n (%) | 28 (25.7) | 4 (16.7) | 0.436 |
| Atrial fibrillation, n (%) | 16 (15.1) | 3 (12.0) | 0.999 |
| Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus | 33 (30.0) | 6 (24.0) | 0.550 |
| Polypharmacy, n (%) | 79 (71.8) | 22 (88.0) | 0.092 |
| Physical activity, n (%) | 0.017 | ||
| Inactive* | 56 (50.5) | 20 (80.0) | |
| Minimally active | 41 (36.9) | 5 (20.0) | |
| Active | 14 (12.6) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Weight, Kg, Md (IQR) | 80.8 (73.5, 89.6) | 67.2 (56.7, 73.9) | < 0.001 |
| Standing height, cm, M (SD) | 166.9 (8.6) | 153.8 (8.8) | < 0.001 |
| BMI, Kg.m−2, M (SD) | 29.5 (4.2) | 28.0 (4.7) | 0.120 |
| BMI classes, n (%) | 0.118 | ||
| Underweight + Normal | 17 (15.3) | 8 (32.0) | |
| Overweight | 46 (41.4) | 10 (40.0) | |
| Obese | 48 (43.2) | 7 (28.0) | |
| Hand grip strength, Kgf, Md (IQR) | 32.7 (26.5, 39.5) | 18.0 (16.2, 22.9) | < 0.001 |
| Gait speed, m.s−1, Md (IQR) | 1.13 (0.93, 1.31) | 0.83 (0.73, 1.07) | < 0.001 |
| Gait speed ≤ 0.8 m.s−1, n (%) | 5 (4.5) | 10 (40.0) | < 0.001 |
| Dietary assessment | |||
| Energy, Kcal/day, Md (IQR) | 1765 (1500, 2227) | 1533 (1151, 1792) | 0.008 |
| Total fat, g/day, Md (IQR) | 56.9 (42.5, 86.2) | 48.2 (31.2, 61.6) | 0.020 |
| Carbohydrates, g/day, Md (IQR) | 198.1 (158.5, 245.8) | 183.5 (118.8, 212.3) | 0.069 |
| Protein, g/day, Md (IQR) | 85.9 (60.4, 106.3) | 70.9 (59.1, 99.5) | 0.134 |
Values are presented as: n (%) = number (percentage); M (SD) = Mean (Standard Deviation); Md (IQR) = Median (Lower quartile, Upper quartile). HF = Heart Failure; LVEF = Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction; HFrEF = Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction; HFmrEF = Heart Failure with mildly reduced Ejection Fraction; HFpEF = Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction; NYHA = New York Heart Association functional HF classes. ACE = Angiotensin-conversion Enzyme; BMI = Body Mass Index. Missing values: LVEF n = 3; NYHA n = 2; Incident myocardial infarction n = 2; Atrial fibrillation n = 5
*Results differ significantly between subsets of dependent variable, as per Bonferroni adjusted p-values