Insidermedicine In Depth - November 21, 2011

An unexpected benefit of being modestly overweight is a lower risk of death following surgery, according to research published online ahead of print in the Archives of Surgery.

Here is some information about body mass index, or BMI:

• BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared

• A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight

• A healthy weight is considered to be a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9; anything above that is considered overweight

Researchers from University of Virginia analyzed the relationship between BMI and death rates in the month following surgery among nearly 190,000 patients who underwent surgical procedures at one of 183 sites in 2005 or 2006. The data was obtained from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.

Overall, 1.7% of the patients died during the month after their surgery. Those with a BMI of less than 23.1 had a 40% greater risk of dying than those with a BMI between 26.3 and 29.7. The type of surgery the patients underwent also significantly affected their risk of dying, and there was a significant interaction between type of surgery and BMI. In other words, for each type of surgery, there were significant differences in patients' risk of dying based on their BMI.

We spoke with Dr. George Stukenborg, corresponding author, who offered some further insight.

Today's research can help surgeons determine who is most likely to experience problems following surgery and thus plan ahead of time strategies for managing those problems.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• BMI
• surgery
• death surgery
• dying after surgery
• postoperative mortality