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Body mass index and mortality in nonsmoking older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study
P Diehr1, D E Bild, T B Harris
1Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
Objectives:
This study assesses the relationship of body mass index to 5-year mortality in a cohort of 4317 nonsmoking men and women aged 65 to 100 years.
Methods:
Logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict mortality as a function of baseline body mass index, adjusting for demographic, clinical, and laboratory covariates.
Results:
There was an inverse relationship between body mass index and mortality; death rates were higher for those who weighed the least. Inclusion of covariates had trivial effects on these results. People who had lost 10% or more of their body weight since age 50 had a relatively high death rate. When that group was excluded, there was no remaining relationship between body mass index and mortality.
Conclusions:
The association between higher body mass index and mortality often found in middle-aged populations was not observed in this large cohort of older adults. Over-weight does not seem to be a risk factor for 5-year mortality in this age group. Rather, the risks associated with significant weight loss should be the primary concern.