The impact of body mass index on severity of cervical spine fracture: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: No study has evaluated the relationship between increasing BMI and severity/type of cervical spine injuries. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of our study was to study the impact of body mass index (BMI) on severity of cervical spine fracture. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with traumatic cervical spine fractures at a level I trauma center over a 74-year period. CT scans of the cervical spine were blindly graded according to the AO Spine sub-axial cervical spine classification. The association between BMI and severity of cervical spine fracture was studied by multiple-variable logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 291 patients with an average BMI of 26.1 ± 5.4 kg/m(2) were studied. Higher BMI was not associated with more severe injury (OR 1.03, 95%, CI: 0.97–1.08). For rollover motor vehicle accident (MVA), the association was trending towards significance (OR 2.55, 95%, CI: 0.98-6.66, P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with higher BMI may be predisposed to more severe cervical spine fracture in rollover MVA, but not non-rollover MVA or falls.