The Impact of Childhood Obesity on Traumatic Injury Outcomes

Introduction Globally, traumatic injury and obesity are significantly linked to pediatric health. The relationship between traumatic injury outcomes and childhood obesity remains poorly understood. This study assesses the potential correlation between childhood obesity and patient outcomes following trauma injuries, with a particular focus on elucidating the intricate interplay among childhood obesity, trauma injury outcomes, and patterns of healthcare utilization, which will address the gap in literature and lays the groundwork for further investigation into the complex relationship between childhood obesity and traumatic injury outcomes. Methods The current study is a retrospective cohort study analyzing data from St. Jospeh’s Children’s Hospital’s Emergency and Trauma Center in Tampa, Florida, between 2010 to 2021. Participants aged 2 to 18 were included and stratified by obesity categories, normal weight, overweight, and obese, based on their BMI. Associations between obesity categories and trauma outcomes such as Length of Hospital Stay (LOS), days in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and mortality were examined. Results Among 1965 participants, 48.85% of participants were of normal weight, 19.49% were overweight, and 31.65% were obese. No significant differences in the included trauma outcomes across obesity classifications were found among analyses. Linear regressions showed no association between trauma outcomes and obesity (P>.05). Mortality outcomes were not analyzed due to insufficient data on deceased participants (P>.05). Conclusion Childhood obesity did not independently predict adverse trauma outcomes in this study. The findings challenge previous assumptions and emphasize the multifactorial nature of trauma outcomes in pediatric patients. Further research with larger sample sizes and comprehensive data collection is needed to fully understand this relationship. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level V, Retrospective cohort study