Prognostic Impact of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index on Long-Term Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Malnutrition has been identified as an important predictor of poor clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure. The aim of this study is to examine the prognostic impact of nutritional status in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The impact of nutrition, assessed using the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) calculated by serum albumin and body mass index, was evaluated in 2,853 patients with CAD who underwent their first PCI between 2000 and 2011. Patients were assigned to tertiles based on their GNRI levels. The incidences of all-cause death and cardiac death were assessed. The median GNRI values were 101 (interquartile range 95 to 106). Lower GNRI levels were associated with older age and higher prevalence of acute coronary syndrome and chronic kidney disease. During the median follow-up period of 7.4 years, Kaplan-Meier curves showed ongoing divergence in rates of mortality among tertiles (GNRI <98: 35.1%; 98 to 104: 20.6%; ≥104: 12.1%; log-rank p <0.0001). Stratification analysis by age also showed that the lowest GNRI tertile was associated with mortality in both patients <65 years and those ≥65 years. After adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors, lower GNRI was an independent predictor of all-cause death (hazard ratio 1.55 per 10 decrease, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 1.84, p <0.0001) and cardiac death (hazard ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.90, p = 0.01). In conclusion, nutritional status was associated with long-term clinical outcomes in CAD patients after PCI. Evaluation of GNRI carries important prognostic information and may guide the therapeutic approach to such patients.