Coronary disease & ACSMeta-analysis
Prognostic impact of sarcopenia following myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of mortality and recurrent myocardial infarction (MI)
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohort studies
Certainty of evidence moderate for mortality, very low for recurrent MI
Authors' conclusion
Sarcopenia assessed around the time of MI is consistently associated with a threefold increase in all-cause mortality, with robust effects across short- and long-term follow-up.
Study context
- Population
- Patients after MI
- Participants
- 939 patients · 4 post-MI cohorts
- Comparison
- Sarcopenia vs no sarcopenia after MI
- Outcome
- All-cause mortality
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Odds ratio
2.84
95% CI 1.85–4.36
Sarcopenia vs No sarcopenia
OR 2.84 (95% CI 1.85–4.36)
Further pooled results
All-cause mortality, follow-up ≤12 months
- Mortality effect consistent at ≤12 months: OR
- 2.55 (95% CI 1.42-4.58)
All-cause mortality, follow-up >12 months
- Mortality effect consistent at >12 months: OR
- 3.21 (95% CI 1.72-6.02)
Recurrent MI (2 cohorts)
- Pooled OR for recurrent MI, possible increased risk but highly imprecise and heterogeneous (95% CI 0.22-22.06; I2 = 81%); certainty very low
- 2.21
- precluding definitive conclusions
All-cause mortality, PCI all-comer cohorts (sensitivity analysis)
- Three PCI all-comer cohorts also indicated higher mortality
- sensitivity only
Original publication
Prognostic impact of sarcopenia following myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of mortality and recurrent MI. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 19 June 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag329
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it