Association of Body Mass Index and Mortality After Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background—The prevalence of severe obesity is rising in the United States. Although mild to moderately elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with reduced mortality after acute ischemic stroke, less is known about severe obesity.

Methods and Results—Patients with acute ischemic stroke (n=1791) ≥45 years were identified from the biethnic population–based Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) study from June 1, 2005, to December 31, 2010. Median follow-up was 660 days. BMI was abstracted from the medical record. Survival was estimated by BMI category (underweight, normal weight, overweight, class 1 obesity, class 2 obesity, and severe obesity) using Kaplan-Meier methods. Hazard ratios for the relationship between BMI modeled continuously and mortality were estimated from Cox regression models after adjustment for patient factors. Read More