Study: Obesity May Increase Survival in Some Diabetes Patients

Elderly patients with diabetes who are overweight or obese may live longer than younger patients with diabetes, according to a recent meta-analysis.

The researchers used data from 20 studies, which included 250,016 patients with diabetes, found via searching the OVID/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases. In their analysis, the researchers examined the association between body mass index and death in this patient population. A random effects model was used to determine summary estimates of hazard ratios, and univariate meta-regressions were also used.
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Results of the meta-analysis demonstrated a significantly reduced risk of all-cause mortality in overweight or obese patients compared with patients at a normal weight. However, these survival benefits were only present in elderly patients.

The beneficial prognostic impacts on overweight and obesity were attenuated with clinical follow-up duration, the researchers said.

“The present meta-analysis showed a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality in overweight patients with diabetes compared with normal weight patients,” the researchers concluded. “However, the survival benefits of obesity were only observed among the elderly patients.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Gao F, Wang ZJ, Shen H, Yang SW, Nie B, Zhou YJ. Impact of obesity on mortality in patients with diabetes: meta-analysis of 20 studies including 250,016 patients. J Diabetics Invest. Published online June 8, 2017. doi:10.1111/jdi.12677.