For Diabetes Patients, a U-Shaped Link Between BMI and Mortality

(HealthDay News) – For patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), body mass index (BMI) around the time of diagnosis has a U-shaped correlation with mortality, according to research published in the April issue of Diabetes Care.

Jennifer Logue, MD, of the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, and colleagues used data from 106,640 patients diagnosed with T2DM in Scotland to investigate the correlation between BMI around the time of diagnosis and mortality. Patients were followed for a mean of 4.7 years to death or the end of 2007.

The researchers identified 9,631 deaths between 2001 and 2007. The mortality risk was significantly higher in patients with a BMI 20 to <25kg/m² (hazard ratio [HR], 1.22 in men, 1.32 in women) and for patients with a BMI ≥35kg/m² (for example, BMI of 45 to <50kg/m²: HR, 1.70 in men, 1.81 in women) compared to patients with a BMI between 25 and 30kg/m². For every 5kg/m² increase in BMI above 30kg/m², vascular mortality increased by 24% in men and 23% in women. These associations remained significant after adjustment for other variables including glycated hemoglobin.

“Patients categorized as normal weight or obese with T2DM within a year of diagnosis of T2DM exhibit variably higher mortality outcomes compared with the overweight group, confirming a U-shaped association of BMI with mortality,” the authors conclude. “Whether weight loss interventions reduce mortality in all T2DM patients requires study.”

Abstract
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