A lower geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) was associated with higher all-cause mortality among participants with rheumatoid arthritis, with those having GNRI <98 showing 84% higher risk compared to those with GNRI ≥98.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis had a significantly lower GNRI than those without RA.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis had higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality rates than those without RA.
Higher GNRI was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the fully adjusted model.
RA participants with a GNRI < 98 had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to those with GNRI ≥ 98.
Neither continuous nor categorical GNRI was significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
This research examined whether a simple nutritional scoring tool called the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) — which uses a person's weight, height, and blood albumin levels — could predict the risk of death in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Using data from a large U.S. national survey (NHANES) collected between 2007 and 2018, the researchers found that people with RA already had lower nutritional scores on average than people without RA, and also had higher rates of death from any cause and from heart disease during the follow-up period. The study found that among people with RA, those with a lower GNRI score (specifically below 98, indicating nutritional risk) were 84% more likely to die from any cause during the study period compared to those with higher scores. Each one-unit increase in the GNRI score was associated with a 6% reduction in all-cause mortality risk. However, the GNRI score was not significantly linked to deaths specifically caused by cardiovascular disease. This research suggests that poor nutritional status, as measured by the GNRI, may identify people with rheumatoid arthritis who are at greater risk of dying. Since the GNRI is inexpensive and easy to calculate in clinical settings, it could potentially be used to flag high-risk patients for closer monitoring or nutritional intervention. However, the authors caution that further prospective studies are needed to determine whether GNRI adds meaningful predictive value beyond other established risk factors in RA management.
Wen Z, Wang S, Li Y, Tu X, Zhang Q, Qing Y. (2026). Association of the geriatric nutritional risk index with mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A cohort study from the NHANES 2007-2018.. Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000050312