Association between calf circumference and mortality in people receiving home enteral nutrition: A retrospective cohort study

Background

Among the anthropometric measurements, calf circumference has been widely used as a simple and practical method to diagnose low muscle mass and sarcopenia. However, the association between this measurement and clinical outcomes in people receiving home enteral nutrition is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of calf circumference with mortality, discharge from home enteral nutrition, continuity in home enteral nutrition, and new hospitalizations in adult and older adult people.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study used secondary data, including people aged ≥18 years receiving home enteral nutrition. The association between calf circumference and the outcomes of mortality, discharge from home enteral nutrition, and continuity in home enteral nutrition was analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. The association between calf circumference and the occurrence of new hospitalizations was investigated using binary logistic regression.

Results

Among the 899 people included in the study, 470 were men (52.3%), the median age was 72 years (interquartile range, 56.5–82), and 850 had inadequate calf circumference (94.5%). As calf circumference increased, the odds of mortality decreased and the probability of discharge from home enteral nutrition and continuity in home enteral nutrition increased. Furthermore, in people with oncologic diagnoses, the odds of new hospitalizations were reduced by 71.9% for each additional centimeter in calf circumference.

Conclusion

These findings underline the importance of using calf circumference as part of the nutrition assessment because it is a simple, easy, and cost-effective method that can also be used as a tool to predict clinical outcomes.