Obesity is associated with better survival and functional outcome after acute intracerebral hemorrhage

To evaluate the association of obesity measured by body mass index (BMI) with mortality and functional outcome in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

Data were from 1571 patients with ICH enrolled in a national, multi-centre, prospective, hospital-based register: the ChinaQUEST (Quality Evaluation of Stroke Care and Treatment) study. The outcomes included all-cause mortality at 12months, and death or high dependency at 3 and 12months. High dependency was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 3-5.

Of 1571 patients with ICH, 109 were underweight (BMI<18.5kg/m²), 657 were normal-weight (BMI 18.5-23kg/m²), 341 were overweight (BMI 23-25kg/m²) and 464 were obese (BMI≥25kg/m²). Compared with normal-weight patients, obese patients had significantly decreased risks of death at 12months (HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.56-0.91) and death or high dependency at 3 and 12months (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53-0.95; OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51-0.94) after adjusting for baseline characteristics. Neither underweight nor overweight was associated with these three outcomes significantly.

In patients with acute ICH, being obese is associated with a decreased mortality and better functional recovery. Further interventional studies are needed to guide the weight management strategy for patients with ICH.