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Weight loss and all-cause mortality: A propensity score matching cohort study
Fangzhou Zhu1, Wenjie Wang2, Lanlan Wu1
1Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, the National Key Discipline, School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
Obesity Research & Clinical Practice
|October 5, 2022
Summary
Significant weight loss (≥15%) in US adults with overweight or obesity may increase mortality risk. Further research is needed to understand this association for long-term weight loss (LTWL) and all-cause mortality.
Area of Science:
- Obesity Research
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Weight loss is often recommended to reduce premature mortality risk.
- However, existing evidence on the association between weight loss and mortality is inconsistent and limited by study designs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between weight loss and all-cause mortality in a national cohort of US adults with overweight or obesity.
- Utilizing propensity score matching (PSM) analysis to control for confounding factors.
Main Methods:
- The study analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003-2015.
- 5486 pairs of participants were matched using PSM.
- Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the association between long-term weight loss (LTWL) and all-cause mortality.
Main Results:
- Over a median follow-up of 6.8 years, 674 deaths occurred.
- A long-term weight loss (LTWL) of 10-14.9% was associated with a 1.65-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.17-2.34).
- A LTWL of ≥15% was associated with a 1.91-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.21-3.00), a risk that persisted across various subgroups.
Conclusions:
- Significant weight loss (≥15%) in US adults with overweight or obesity warrants caution.
- The findings suggest a potential increased risk of all-cause mortality associated with substantial weight loss in this population.
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