Severe arm-muscle wasting: sign of lethal malnutrition in sick elderly men.
During a 3-yr period, I detected 29 sick men with severe muscle wasting defined by corrected arm-muscle area less than or equal to 16.9 cm2. Almost invariably, these men had weight and body mass index below the 3rd percentile. All had marked depletion of total-body muscle and protein mass, as evidenced by low urinary creatinine-height ratio and total-body nitrogen from neutron-activation analysis. Median survival was only 1.2 mo. Subjects were divided according to survival at 3 mo. The 8 survivors differed from the 21 who died in that they had higher energy intake and a greater chance of restoring muscle mass (5/8 vs. 0/21, P less than 0.001). Treatment of this lethal wasting state remains unsatisfactory. Hence, the most sensible approach is prevention.
Friedman
P J
PJ
Rehabilitation Unit, Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001132:Arm; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002149:Energy Intake; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology*; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology