The FINANCIAL — Being overweight or obese does not lead to improved survival among patients with type 2 diabetes.
The FINANCIAL — Being overweight or obese does not lead to improved survival among patients with type 2 diabetes. The large-scale study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers refutes previous studies that have suggested that, for people with diabetes, being overweight or obese could lead to lower mortality for people compared with normal-weight persons—the so-called “obesity paradox.”
The researchers analyzed data from 8,970 women in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital-based Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and 2,457 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) with type 2 diabetes. They calculated participants’ body-mass index (BMI) shortly before the diagnosis of diabetes and excluded participants reporting a history of diabetes at baseline or cardiovascular disease or cancer before they were diagnosed with diabetes; underweight participants were also excluded. Participants were followed for a maximum of 36 years (NHS) and 26 years (HPFS). A total of 3,083 deaths were recorded, according to The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
The results showed a positive association between BMI at the time of diabetes diagnosis and risk of death from all causes. The lowest risk of death was observed among people of normal weight. Lower mortality was not observed among overweight or obese participants, that is, the findings showed no benefit from being overweight or obese. In addition, there was a dose-response relationship between BMI and mortality among people who had never smoked, such that a higher BMI just prior to diabetes diagnosis was associated with a higher risk of death. This trend was less pronounced among smokers because smokers tend to be leaner than nonsmokers but they have increased risk of death, according to The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
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