Obesity Linked with Lymphedema

There may be a link between obesity and lymphedema, according to a small study described in a letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The average body mass index among 15 obese patients with enlargement of the legs was significantly greater in those with lymphedema.  BMI in those 5 patients was 70.1 kg/m2, compared with 42 kg/m2 in those with normal lymphatic function.

"As the amount of adipose tissue increases in the lower extremity, lymphatic vessels may become dysfunctional (possibly because of compression or inflammation), thereby reducing proximal lymphatic flow," researchers wrote.

All patients with lymphedema also had a BMI greater than 59 kg/m2, whereas the BMI patients without the condition were all less than 54 kg/m2. 

"As BMI increases, there might be a threshold above which lymphatic flow becomes impaired," Greene and colleagues wrote. "Proximal transport of lymphatic fluid from the extremity is dependent on the function of the lymphatic vasculature (clearance) and the volume of lymph produced by the tissues (load)."

-Michael Potts