Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients

Objective: Protein energy wasting (PEW) is a severe form of malnutrition prevalent among hemodialysis (HD) patients. A key diagnostic criterion outlined by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM) for PEW is a reduction in mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) below the 50th...

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Main Authors: Hoong, Qian Qian, Lim, Jun Hao, Teong, Lee Fang, Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah, Khor, Ban Hock, Sahathevan, Sharmela, Khosla, Pramod, Karupaiah, Tilakavati, Mat Daud, Zulfitri Azuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier B.V. 2025
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/1/120897.pdf
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author Hoong, Qian Qian
Lim, Jun Hao
Teong, Lee Fang
Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah
Khor, Ban Hock
Sahathevan, Sharmela
Khosla, Pramod
Karupaiah, Tilakavati
Mat Daud, Zulfitri Azuan
author_facet Hoong, Qian Qian
Lim, Jun Hao
Teong, Lee Fang
Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah
Khor, Ban Hock
Sahathevan, Sharmela
Khosla, Pramod
Karupaiah, Tilakavati
Mat Daud, Zulfitri Azuan
author_sort Hoong, Qian Qian
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Objective: Protein energy wasting (PEW) is a severe form of malnutrition prevalent among hemodialysis (HD) patients. A key diagnostic criterion outlined by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM) for PEW is a reduction in mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) below the 50th percentile (P50) of the reference population by more than 10%. However, the absence of population-specific MAMC cut-offs makes diagnosing PEW challenging. This study aimed to establish, validate and evaluate MAMC cut-offs for diagnosing PEW in Malaysian HD patients. Methods: A three-phase cross-sectional study was conducted with training, validation and testing phases using a five-fold cross-validation approach against Frisancho reference. A total of 953 Malaysian HD patients were included in the analysis. Secondary data from previous Malaysian HD studies were utilized for both the training and validation phases, accounting for about 85% of the dataset. The remaining 15% of the dataset, used for the testing phase, comprised newly collected data. Data collection involved face-to-face interviews, anthropometric measurements, biochemical results, clinical data, and dietary assessments. PEW was diagnosed using the ISRNM criteria. Descriptive analysis was used to establish Malaysians HD MAMC cut-offs at P50 for PEW diagnosis, as per ISRNM criteria. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics curve assessed and compared the validity of these new cut-offs against the Frisancho reference. Results: The P50 MAMC for Malaysian HD males was markedly lower than the Frisancho reference (24.29 cm vs 28.08 cm), whereas for females, it was slightly higher (23.14 cm vs 22.17 cm). The newly established Malaysian HD-specific MAMC cut-offs demonstrated excellent discrimination ability, outperforming Frisancho cut-offs for both validation (AUCMalaysian = 0.904 vs AUCFrisancho = 0.812) and evaluation (AUCMalaysia = 0.871 vs AUCFrisancho = 0.749). Conclusion: These MAMC cut-offs serve as the first Malaysian HD-specific references, enhancing PEW diagnosis for clinical practice and future research.
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spelling upm-1208972025-10-15T03:02:40Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/ Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients Hoong, Qian Qian Lim, Jun Hao Teong, Lee Fang Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah Khor, Ban Hock Sahathevan, Sharmela Khosla, Pramod Karupaiah, Tilakavati Mat Daud, Zulfitri Azuan Objective: Protein energy wasting (PEW) is a severe form of malnutrition prevalent among hemodialysis (HD) patients. A key diagnostic criterion outlined by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM) for PEW is a reduction in mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) below the 50th percentile (P50) of the reference population by more than 10%. However, the absence of population-specific MAMC cut-offs makes diagnosing PEW challenging. This study aimed to establish, validate and evaluate MAMC cut-offs for diagnosing PEW in Malaysian HD patients. Methods: A three-phase cross-sectional study was conducted with training, validation and testing phases using a five-fold cross-validation approach against Frisancho reference. A total of 953 Malaysian HD patients were included in the analysis. Secondary data from previous Malaysian HD studies were utilized for both the training and validation phases, accounting for about 85% of the dataset. The remaining 15% of the dataset, used for the testing phase, comprised newly collected data. Data collection involved face-to-face interviews, anthropometric measurements, biochemical results, clinical data, and dietary assessments. PEW was diagnosed using the ISRNM criteria. Descriptive analysis was used to establish Malaysians HD MAMC cut-offs at P50 for PEW diagnosis, as per ISRNM criteria. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics curve assessed and compared the validity of these new cut-offs against the Frisancho reference. Results: The P50 MAMC for Malaysian HD males was markedly lower than the Frisancho reference (24.29 cm vs 28.08 cm), whereas for females, it was slightly higher (23.14 cm vs 22.17 cm). The newly established Malaysian HD-specific MAMC cut-offs demonstrated excellent discrimination ability, outperforming Frisancho cut-offs for both validation (AUCMalaysian = 0.904 vs AUCFrisancho = 0.812) and evaluation (AUCMalaysia = 0.871 vs AUCFrisancho = 0.749). Conclusion: These MAMC cut-offs serve as the first Malaysian HD-specific references, enhancing PEW diagnosis for clinical practice and future research. Elsevier B.V. 2025 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_nd_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/1/120897.pdf Hoong, Qian Qian and Lim, Jun Hao and Teong, Lee Fang and Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah and Khor, Ban Hock and Sahathevan, Sharmela and Khosla, Pramod and Karupaiah, Tilakavati and Mat Daud, Zulfitri Azuan (2025) Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients. Clinical Nutrition Open Science, 64. pp. 55-72. ISSN 2667-2685 https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2667268525001019 10.1016/j.nutos.2025.09.002
spellingShingle Hoong, Qian Qian
Lim, Jun Hao
Teong, Lee Fang
Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah
Khor, Ban Hock
Sahathevan, Sharmela
Khosla, Pramod
Karupaiah, Tilakavati
Mat Daud, Zulfitri Azuan
Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients
title Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients
title_full Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients
title_fullStr Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients
title_full_unstemmed Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients
title_short Clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in Malaysian hemodialysis patients
title_sort clinical utility of mid-arm muscle circumference cut-offs for detecting protein-energy wasting in malaysian hemodialysis patients
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/120897/1/120897.pdf