Body Mass Index and the Risk of Poor Outcome in Surgically Treated Patients With Good-Grade Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Heterogeneity among study populations and treatment procedures has led to conflicting results on outcome predictors for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). One such conflicting predictor is body mass index (BMI). OBJECTIVE: To clarify whether high BMI values protect patients from poor outcome after aSAH, as previously suggested. METHODS: We surveyed 6 prospective studies conducted in 14 different countries (93 healthcare units) between 1985 and 2016 and pooled the data on surgically treated patients with good-grade (Glasgow Coma Scale 13-15 on admission) aSAH. We calculated BMI for each patient and created 4 balanced categories based on the BMI quartiles of each cohort. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs for the 3-month poor outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale 1-3) by BMI. RESULTS: The pooled study cohort included 1692 patients with good-grade aSAH (mean age 51 years; 64% female). At 3 months, 288 (17%) had poor outcomes. The risk for poor outcomes increased with increasing BMI values (OR = 1.15 [1.02-1.31] per each standard deviation increase of BMI). The risk for poor outcome was over 1.6 times higher (OR = 1.66 [1.13-2.43]) in the highest BMI category (range 27.1-69.2) compared with the lowest BMI category (range 14.4-23.8). These associations were found in each of the 6 study cohorts in both men and women, regardless of age. CONCLUSION: Because higher BMI values seem to associate with poor outcomes in surgically treated patients with good-grade aSAH, it seems unlikely that obesity protects patients with aSAH from poor outcomes.