A Preliminary Nomogram for Sarcopenia Screening in Cardiology Outpatients Incorporating Cardiac Structure, Function, and Clinical Variables.
9 affiliations
- 1Division of Occupational Medicine, Yuan's General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 2The Master Program of Long-Term Care in Aging, College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 3Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Family Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
- 4Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 5School of Medicine for International Students, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 6Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 7Department of Family Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
- 8Department of Sports Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 9Center for Long-Term Care Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Abstract
Objective
To investigate associations between routine cardiac measurements and prevalent sarcopenia in cardiology outpatients and develop a preliminary nomogram to support screening.Design and methods
This single-center cross-sectional study included 86 adults aged 50 years or older. Participants underwent electrocardiography, transthoracic echocardiography, and sarcopenia assessment using the 2019 Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria. Multivariate logistic regression used univariable screening at p < 0.20 and backward elimination with retention at p < 0.10. Internal validation used 1000 bootstrap resamples with fixed predictor sets. A three-variable model was examined in an exploratory sensitivity analysis.Results
Sarcopenia was present in 30 participants (34.9%). Age ≥ 65 years (odds ratio [OR] 6.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.83-23.62), diabetes mellitus (OR 4.68, 95% CI 1.38-15.88), and abnormal left ventricular internal diameter at end-systole (LVIDs; OR 5.36, 95% CI 1.01-28.55) were significantly associated with sarcopenia. Abnormal E/A ratio and left ventricular posterior wall thickness at end-diastole (LVPWd) were retained under p < 0.10 but were not statistically significant and remain exploratory. The apparent AUC was 0.848 and the optimism-corrected AUC was 0.816. Corrected calibration intercept and slope were -0.124 and 0.679; the slope below 1 indicates overfitting. Decision curve analysis showed positive net benefit in the development sample without optimism correction.Conclusion
In this small, single-center cross-sectional study, older age, diabetes mellitus, and abnormal LVIDs were associated with prevalent sarcopenia. The internally evaluated five-variable nomogram remains a preliminary screening-support model; E/A ratio and LVPWd findings are exploratory. External validation and clinical impact assessment are required before routine use.
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BibTeX
@article{hsu2026preliminary,
title = {{A Preliminary Nomogram for Sarcopenia Screening in Cardiology Outpatients Incorporating Cardiac Structure, Function, and Clinical Variables.}},
author = {Li-Chun Hsu and Shang-Ping Hung and Chao-Ping Wang and Lih-Jiun Liaw and Kang-Ting Tsai and Wen-Lan Wu and Lan-Yuen Guo and Chia-Chi Yang},
journal = {International journal of general medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.2147/ijgm.s636765},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910258},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A Preliminary Nomogram for Sarcopenia Screening in Cardiology Outpatients Incorporating Cardiac Structure, Function, and Clinical Variables.
AU - Li-Chun Hsu
AU - Shang-Ping Hung
AU - Chao-Ping Wang
AU - Lih-Jiun Liaw
AU - Kang-Ting Tsai
AU - Wen-Lan Wu
AU - Lan-Yuen Guo
AU - Chia-Chi Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - International journal of general medicine
DO - 10.2147/ijgm.s636765
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910258
AB - Objective To investigate associations between routine cardiac measurements and prevalent sarcopenia in cardiology outpatients and develop a preliminary nomogram to support screening.Design and methods This single-center cross-sectional study included 86 adults aged 50 years or older. Participants underwent electrocardiography, transthoracic echocardiography, and sarcopenia assessment using the 2019 Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria. Multivariate logistic regression used univariable screening at p < 0.20 and backward elimination with retention at p < 0.10. Internal validation used 1000 bootstrap resamples with fixed predictor sets. A three-variable model was examined in an exploratory sensitivity analysis.Results Sarcopenia was present in 30 participants (34.9%). Age ≥ 65 years (odds ratio [OR] 6.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.83-23.62), diabetes mellitus (OR 4.68, 95% CI 1.38-15.88), and abnormal left ventricular internal diameter at end-systole (LVIDs; OR 5.36, 95% CI 1.01-28.55) were significantly associated with sarcopenia. Abnormal E/A ratio and left ventricular posterior wall thickness at end-diastole (LVPWd) were retained under p < 0.10 but were not statistically significant and remain exploratory. The apparent AUC was 0.848 and the optimism-corrected AUC was 0.816. Corrected calibration intercept and slope were -0.124 and 0.679; the slope below 1 indicates overfitting. Decision curve analysis showed positive net benefit in the development sample without optimism correction.Conclusion In this small, single-center cross-sectional study, older age, diabetes mellitus, and abnormal LVIDs were associated with prevalent sarcopenia. The internally evaluated five-variable nomogram remains a preliminary screening-support model; E/A ratio and LVPWd findings are exploratory. External validation and clinical impact assessment are required before routine use.
SN - 1178-7074
ER -