The Effect of Obesity on the Quality of Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy: Results From a Large Observational Study

Background: Obesity has been linked to suboptimal bowel preparation but this association has not been conclusively investigated in prospective studies. Goals: Our objective was to determine whether any relationship exists between obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI) and quality of bowel preparation. Study: Adult patients who presented for outpatient colonoscopy at a single urban ambulatory surgery center within a 6-month period and fulfilled inclusion criteria were prospectively enrolled for the study. Patients were divided by BMI into subcategories based on the World Health Organization international classification of obesity. The Modified Aronchick scale was used to assess bowel preparation for colonoscopy. A univariate and multivariate analysis was used to determine a possible association between BMI and poor preparation. Results: A total of 1429 patients were evaluated. On the basis of inclusion criteria, 1314 subjects were analyzed, out of which 73% were overweight or obese. Inadequate bowel preparation was noted in 21.1% of patients. There was no correlation between obesity and the quality of the bowel preparation. Male gender (P=0.002), diabetes mellitus (P
Source: Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: ONLINE ARTICLES: Original Articles Source Type: research