Nutrient intake and serum cytokine pattern in elderly people with heart failure

Background: Heart failure (HF) is frequently complicated by malnutrition. We estimated nutrient intake in HF patients and evaluated the correlation between serum cytokines and dietary pattern. Methods: We studied 124 elderly (>= 60 years) patients with severe HF (N=62) or without HF (controls, N=62), matched for age and sex. Nutritional data were obtained from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire. We compared the intake of macro- and micronutrients in the two groups; in the HF group nutritional intake was correlated with serum cytokines. Results: HF patients had a lower energy intake (26.8 Kcal/Kg of ideal weight vs. 37.3 Kcal/Kg ideal weight in controls, P<0.001) due to a lower intake of all macronutrients. The energy intake was lower than the recommended (30 Kcal/Kg of ideal body weight) in 72% of HF and 34% of the controls. The intake of several minerals and vitamins was inferior to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) in most participants. Those HF patients with a caloric intake below the median (22.6 Kcal/Kg ideal weight) did not differ substantially from those with higher caloric intake with regard to age, functional characteristics, and lean body mass as expressed by the mid-arm muscle circumference, however, they had a higher concentration of IL4 (61.5 pg/ml vs. 37.7 pg/ml, P=0.075) and of IL10 (6.32 pg/ml vs. 2.06 pg/ml, P=0.046). Conclusions: Nutritional intake is frequently inadequate in patients with severe HF. Our results suggest that some interleukins might affect caloric intake in patients with HF. (C) 2008 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.