Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Background: Calf circumference (CC) is a non-invasive assessment of muscle mass (MM). Objective: To verify whether low CC (<31 cm) at the diagnosis is an independent risk factor for death in older persons with cancer. Methods: This study used secondary data from a cohort of older persons with cancer admitted from 2016 to 2020 in Northeast Brazil. Geriatric assessment and sociodemographic, background, and clinical data were collected upon admission. Inclusion criteria were patients who underwent MAN-based CC measurement. The primary outcome was death during the 180-day follow-up. Crude and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) were obtained from the Cox proportional hazard model, and the survival analysis used the Kaplan-Meier method according to CC. Results: From 414 included patients, 32.6% presented low CC. The overall mortality rate was 21.5% (89 deaths), 25.9% for the low CC group, and 19.7% for the adequate CC group. Low CC was not identified as an independent risk factor for death in the bivariate and multivariate analysis. The survival probability was not different among CC cutoff points. Conclusion: Low MM assessed using a CC cutoff point recommended by WHO and MNA did not present predictive value for death in older persons with cancer.
Source: Revista Eletrônica Acervo Saúde
Authors: Paloma Arquimedes Alves dos Santos, Fernanda Rafaella de Melo Silva, Gabriel de Moraes Ramos Borba, Ana Carolina Rezende Silveira, Jurema Telles de Oliveira Lima, Maria Júlia Gonçalves de Mello
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409910780