Overweight Status May Offer Survival Benefits After Major Surgery In Older Adults

Older adults who are overweight whitethorn look a little consequence of decease successful nan first 30 days pursuing awesome elective room compared pinch those who person a normal assemblage wide scale (BMI), caller investigation suggests.

The study, to beryllium published August 26 successful nan peer-reviewed JAMA Network Open, examined outcomes successful older surgical patients and recovered that being overweight (BMI 25–29.9) was associated pinch nan lowest short-term mortality rates. In contrast, normal and underweight patients had importantly higher consequence of death.

Traditional surgical guidelines often stress having a normal BMI earlier surgery, but our findings propose that these recommendations whitethorn request to beryllium reconsidered for older adults. Older adults person different physiological considerations, and mean excess weight whitethorn really beryllium protective successful nan short word aft surgery."

Dr. Cecilia Canales, lead author, adjunct professor successful nan Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

The researchers analyzed information from 414 adults aged 65 and older undergoing awesome elective room astatine a ample world halfway successful Southern California betwixt February 2019 and January 2022. Patients were categorized by BMI and compared for 30-day and one-year mortality, postoperative delirium, discharge disposition, and complications.

Patients successful nan overweight class had a 0.8% 30-day all-cause mortality rate, compared to 18.8% for those pinch a normal BMI, a quality that remained important aft adjusting for factors specified arsenic age, frailty, and comorbidities - including whether a diligent had cancer. Underweight patients had a 15.0% 30-day mortality rate.

"This study adds to a increasing assemblage of grounds connected nan alleged 'obesity paradox,' wherever a higher BMI appears to beryllium linked pinch amended endurance successful definite older big populations," said co-author Dr. Catherine Sarkisian, professor of medicine successful nan section of wide soul medicine and wellness services investigation astatine nan Geffen School. "It's important to tailor preoperative information to nan physiology of older patients."

The authors statement that these findings whitethorn person implications for preoperative counseling and BMI-based surgical consequence calculators, which are often derived from younger aliases mixed-age populations. They urge further investigation to research nan biologic and objective mechanisms down this relation and to pass surgical guidelines for older adults.

Study co-authors see Myles Anderson, Dr. David Elashoff,Tristan Grogan MS,; Dr. Marcia Russell, Dr. Victor Duval, Dr. Robert Whittington, Dr. Maxime Cannesson, and Dr. Catherine Sarkisian of UCLA.