Various studies report a paradoxical U-shaped relationship between obesity and mortality, suggesting patients with higher BMI have similar or lower mortality rates after cardiovascular events.
Does obesity or higher BMI improve short- and long-term mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases compared to normal BMI?
This review highlights the 'obesity paradox', where higher BMI is associated with similar or lower mortality rates in patients with cardiovascular disease, contrary to its role as a primary risk factor.
The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an epidemic rate globally with more than 1 billion adults overweight and at least 300 million of them clinically obese. This is expected to rise further in the next 20 to 30 years. Obesity is known to be an independent risk factor for serious health conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Given the association of obesity with cardiovascular disease, it could be speculated that obese individuals would have adverse outcomes after a cardiovascular event compared to those with normal body mass index (BMI). However, various studies have reported a paradoxical U-shaped relationship between obesity and mortality from various diseases, including myocardial infarction and heart failure, suggesting that patients with higher BMI have similar or lower short- and long-term mortality rates. This phenomenon has been termed the 'obesity paradox' or 'reverse epidemiology'. The goal of this review is to evaluate the potential mechanisms behind the obesity paradox and its implications.
Ghoorah et al. (Thu,) conducted a review in Obesity and cardiovascular disease. Obesity (higher BMI) vs. Normal body mass index (BMI) was evaluated on Mortality from various diseases, including myocardial infarction and heart failure. Various studies report a paradoxical U-shaped relationship between obesity and mortality, suggesting patients with higher BMI have similar or lower mortality rates after cardiovascular events.
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