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Research Article: Screening of risk factors and construction of a prediction model for enteral nutrition intolerance in elderly patients with comorbidities and sarcopenia

Date Published: 2026-10-01

Abstract:
To screen the independent risk factors for enteral nutrition intolerance (ENI) in elderly comorbid patients with sarcopenia, and to establish and validate a clinical prediction model for individualized risk assessment and targeted intervention. A total of 202 elderly comorbid patients with sarcopenia receiving enteral nutrition were retrospectively enrolled from the Geriatrics Department of Qingdao Municipal Hospital between January 2024 and December 2025. Patients were divided into ENI group ( n =?108) and tolerant group ( n =?94). Potential predictive indicators were initially screened via univariate logistic regression. Statistically significant variables were then included in multivariable logistic regression to determine independent risk factors for target events. A visual nomogram prediction model was developed incorporating these independent predictors. Four statistical methods were applied to fully assess model performance: ROC curves for discrimination evaluation, calibration curves for risk fitting verification, DCA for clinical utility assessment, and SHAP analysis to interpret the predictive weight of each variable. Severe dependence in activities of daily living (ADL) and concomitant psychiatric disorders were independently linked to higher ENI risk, whereas red blood cell (RBC) levels produced a protective effect. The predictive model delivered solid discriminative performance, registering an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.69–0.85) in the training cohort and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.57–0.84) in the validation cohort. The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test confirmed adequate model calibration ( p >?0.05), and net clinical benefit analysis validated steady clinical value across clinically relevant risk threshold ranges. SHAP analysis indicated that concomitant psychiatric disorders served as the primary variable driving the model’s predictive results. The developed nomogram exhibited acceptable discrimination and acceptable calibration upon internal validation, with detectable net clinical benefit. This visual risk scoring tool enables personalized ENI risk estimation in elderly multimorbid patients with sarcopenia. Additional multicenter external validation work should be finished prior to clinical adoption.

Introduction:
Concurrent chronic diseases and sarcopenia represent critical health burdens for elderly hospitalized populations. The prevalence of sarcopenia is markedly higher among the oldest-old inpatients ( 1 ). As outlined in the 2025 consensus statement from the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS), sarcopenia is a progressive, age-associated muscle disorder characterized by gradual loss of skeletal muscle mass and deterioration of muscular strength ( 2 ). This condition diminishes physical function in older adults…

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