Mortality of the Severely Obese: A Population Study

This study aimed to analyze the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to identify the prognostic factors of all-cause mortality in the severely obese. Background: Patients who are severely obese [body mass index (BMI) ≥35 kg/m2] are at increased risk of all-cause mortality as a result of metabolic sequelae including hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. Bariatric surgery has been shown to reduce the severity of the metabolic complications of obesity. Method: A case-controlled analysis was carried out of patients with a BMI of 35 kg/m2 or more from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a UK database of primary care clinics. Clinicopathological characteristics at baseline diagnosis were extracted. Cases of all-cause mortality were identified as a clinical endpoint. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for different patient factors. A P value less than 0.050 was defined as significant. Results: A total of 187,061 records were identified for analysis. Median follow-up time was 98.0 months (range: 3.0–1095.0). A total of 8655(4.6%) were identified as having died during the study period. The median time from baseline obesity diagnosis until death was 137.0 months (range: 3.0–628.7). Multivariate analysis found bariatric surgery to be associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.487; P
Source: Annals of Surgery - Category: Surgery Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research