The following is a summary of “Impact of body mass index on perioperative mortality of acute stanford type A aortic dissection: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the October 2023 issue of Cardiology by Song et al.

Obesity may increase perioperative mortality of acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD), but more research is needed. Researchers started a retrospective study to review the link between body mass index (BMI) and perioperative mortality in patients with ATAAD.

They performed an electronic search in databases like PubMed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Included were all observational studies investigating the BMI’s connection to perioperative mortality in ATAAD. A random-effects model calculated pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI. Meta-regression analysis assessed the impact of various clinical variables on BMI and perioperative mortality in ATAAD. Analyzed sources of variation using sensitivity analysis; used Egger’s regression and funnel plot to detect publication bias.

The results showed 12 studies involving 5,522 patients. The pooled analysis revealed a 22% increase in perioperative mortality of ATAAD for each 1 kg/m² rise in BMI (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.10–1.35). Univariable meta-regression analysis suggested that age and female gender positively influenced the relationship between BMI and perioperative mortality of ATAAD (meta-regression on age: coefficient = 0.04, P=0.04; meta-regression on female gender: coefficient = 0.02, P=0.03). No notable heterogeneity or publication bias was observed among the included studies.

They concluded that higher BMI is associated with increased perioperative mortality in ATAAD, especially in the elderly and female populations.

Source: bmccardiovascdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12872-023-03517-z