Abstract Objectives This study examined the association between the psoas muscle index (PMI), hospital clinical outcomes and long‐term survival in older patients hospitalised in a geriatric ward. Methods This retrospective study included 173 patients aged 65 years or older hospitalised in a geriatric ward (August 2020–December 2023). The PMI was measured via abdominal CT and calculated as the psoas muscle area divided by body surface area (mm 2 /m 2 ). The post‐discharge status of discharged patients was assessed through telephone interviews. Results The median age of the patients (58%, female) was 80 years (65–112 years). The median PMI value was significantly lower in patients who died in the hospital than in those who survived ( p = .01). In long‐term follow‐up, median PMI was significantly lower in female patients who died than in survivors ( p = .02). In multiple regression analyses, PMI was shown to be independently associated with in‐hospital mortality in all study populations and long‐term mortality in female patients. In the whole study population, the optimal cut‐off value of PMI for predicting in‐hospital mortality was ≤407.3 mm 2 /m 2 ( p = .02); for females, it was ≤406.5 mm 2 /m 2 ( p < .001); for males, it was ≤633.9 mm 2 /m 2 ( p = .03). In female patients, the optimal cut‐off value of PMI for predicting long‐term mortality was ≤406.5 mm 2 /m 2 ( p = .02); however, for the whole population and male patients, it was not statistically significant. Conclusions This study demonstrates that low PMI might be related to increases in in‐hospital and long‐term mortality rates in hospitalised older individuals. The PMI measurement may be a potential marker for predicting mortality in hospitalised older patients.
Akkar et al. (Mon,) studied this question.