Clinical impact of malnutrition according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria combined with kidney dysfunction to determine mortality in inpatients.

OBJECTIVE: The clinical impact of malnutrition based on the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in patients with kidney dysfunction remains poorly understood. This study investigated the usefulness of GLIM criteria for malnutrition predicting mortality in patients with kidney dysfunction and different clinical renal states, including no kidney disease (NKD), acute kidney injury (AKI), and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study included 6,712 patients aged ≥18 admitted between 2018 and 2019. The relationship between the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) groups, nutritional status based on the GLIM criteria, and incidence of all-cause mortality was evaluated using multivariate Cox proportional hazards (CPH) models. Malnutrition was defined as at least one phenotype (weight loss, low body mass index (BMI), or reduced muscle mass) and one etiological criterion (reduced intake/assimilation or disease burden/inflammation).

RESULTS: Multivariate CPH models showed that eGFR ≤29 (vs. eGFR: 60-89, adjusted HR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.52-2.22), 30-59 (vs. eGFR: 60-89, adjusted HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.20-1.64), and ≥90 (vs. eGFR: 60-89, adjusted HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.14-1.71), moderate and severe malnutrition (vs. without malnutrition, adjusted HR = 1.38 [1.18-1.62] and 2.18 [1.86-2.54], respectively) were independently associated with the incidence of death. The all-cause mortality rate was higher in patients with malnutrition or eGFR ≤29 (adjusted HR, 3.31; 95% CI: 2.51-4.35) than in patients without malnutrition or eGFR 60-89. Furthermore, moderate and severe malnutrition (vs. no malnutrition) was independently associated with death in patients with NKD, AKI, and CKD.

CONCLUSION: Malnutrition based on the GLIM criteria was associated with increased all-cause mortality in inpatients, and malnutrition combined with kidney dysfunction was associated with a higher risk of mortality. Furthermore, patients with NKD, AKI, and CKD showed an association between malnutrition based on GLIM criteria and mortality.