Study of Factors Affecting Sarcopenia in Regular Hemodialysis Patients

Background: Sarcopenia is prevalent among hemodialysis patients and is linked with decreased physical function, diminished quality of life, and a total increase of cardiovascular risk. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Menoufia University Hospitals, including 86 ESRD patients, who were classified into three groups according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria based on sarcopenia severity. Medical history, anthropometric measurements, nutritional condition, physical function tests, and laboratory investigations were included to analyze differences between groups, considering influential factors. Results: Sarcopenia’s bioimpedance parameters including ASM ( 16.21 ± 2.40) , ASMI (5.02 ± 1.19), Phase angle (°) ( 5.7 ± 0.5) hand strength (20.81 ± 5.15), were significantly lower than the non-sarcopenic group with low physical activity assessed by IPA. The multivariate analysis and the ROC curve revealed that malnutrition was the most predicted risk factor for sarcopenia in regular hemodialysis patients (OR= 3.54; CI: 1.911-5.814, P =0.000) with cut off value less than 3.5 with high sensitivity and specificity followed by diabetes mellitus (OR= 1.619; CI: 0.312-0.852, P= 0.01) and other predictors. Conclusion: Malnutrition, physical inactivity, and associated comorbidity may be significant modifiable factors in the sarcopenia development and progression in heamodialysis cases. These results emphasize the value of early screening and individualized intervention strategies for managing sarcopenia in affected patients.