The impact of recipient body mass index on survival after lung transplantation

Allen, Jeremiah G.; Arnaoutakis, George J.; Weiss, Eric S.; Merlo, Christian A.; Conte, John V.; Shah, Ashish S.

doi:10.1016/j.healun.2010.05.005

« Previous Next »The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
Volume 29, Issue 9 , Pages 1026-1033, September 2010

The impact of recipient body mass index on survival after lung transplantation

Presented at The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation's Thirtieth Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–24, 2010.

Jeremiah G. Allen, MD
- Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
George J. Arnaoutakis, MD
- Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Eric S. Weiss, MD, MPH
- Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Christian A. Merlo, MD, MPH
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
John V. Conte, MD
- Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Ashish S. Shah, MD
- Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
- Reprint requests: Ashish S. Shah, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Blalock 618, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21287. Telephone: 410-502-3900. Fax: 410-955-3809

published online 17 June 2010.

Background

Lung transplant (LTx) candidates are frequently over or underweight. Few studies have examined recipient weight and outcomes after LTx. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database provides an opportunity to examine outcomes related to body mass index (BMI) in a large cohort of LTx patients.

Methods

The UNOS data set was retrospectively reviewed for 11,411 adult primary LTx patients (1998 to 2008). Patients were stratified by recipient BMI (kg/m²): less than 18.5 (underweight), 18.5 to 24.9 (normal), 25.0 to 29.9 (overweight), more than 30 (obese). All-cause mortality was examined with Cox proportional hazard regression incorporating 15 variables. Survival was modeled using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

Of 11,411 recipients, 1,355 (11.9%) were underweight, 4,998 (43.8%) were normal weight, 3,662 (62.1%) were overweight, and 1,396 (12.2%) were obese. During the study, 4,959 patients (43.5%) died. Mortality was significantly different between the strata, with incremental increases in death for each BMI category above or below normal. On multivariable analysis, BMI strata predicted death compared with normal weight. Risk of death was increased in recipients who were underweight (hazard ratio [HR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.26; p = 0.01), overweight (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.99–1.14; p = 0.1), and obese (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.04–1.28; p = 0.005). Kaplan-Meier modeling showed a significant effect of BMI on survival; however, this effect was no longer significant when first-year deaths were excluded.

Conclusions

Mortality is higher in underweight, overweight, and obese LTx patients than in normal-weight controls. However, this effect appears to be governed by survival in the first year after LTx.

Key Words: lung transplantation, body mass index, UNOS, survival, rejection