Body mass index and risk of perioperative cardiovascular adverse events and mortality in 34,744 Danish patients undergoing hip or knee replacement

Abstract

Background and purpose — Obesity is a risk factor for osteoarthritis in the lower limb, yet the cardiovascular risks associated with obesity in hip or knee replacement surgery are unknown. We examined associations between body mass index (BMI) and the risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE: ischemic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, or cardiovascular death) or the risk of all-cause mortality in a nationwide Danish cohort of patients who underwent primary hip or knee replacement surgery.

Methods — Using Danish nationwide registries, we identified 34,744 patients aged ≥ 20 years who underwent elective primary hip or knee replacement surgery between 2005 and 2011. We used multivariable Cox regression models to calculate the 30-day risks of MACE and mortality associated with 5 BMI groups (underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m²), normal weight (18.5–24 kg/m²), overweight (25–29 kg/m²), obese 1 (30–34 kg/m²), and obese 2 (≥ 35 kg/m²)).

Results — In total, 232 patients (0.7%) had a MACE and 111 (0.3%) died. Compared with overweight, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.2 (95% CI: 0.4–3.3), 1.3 (0.95–1.8), 1.6 (1.1–2.2), and 1.0 (0.6–1.9) for underweight, normal weight, obese 1, and obese 2 regarding MACE. Regarding mortality, the corresponding HRs were 7.0 (2.8–15), 2.0 (1.2–3.2), 1.5 (0.9–2.7), and 1.9 (0.9–4.2). Cubic splines suggested a significant U-shaped relationship between BMI and risks with nadir around 27–28.

Interpretation — In an unselected cohort of patients undergoing elective primary hip or knee replacement surgery, U-shaped risks of perioperative MACE and mortality were found in relation to BMI. Patients within the extreme ranges of BMI may warrant further attention.

CT wrote the initial draft of the paper. CA performed all the analyses and takes responsibility for the accuracy of the analyses and the integration of data. CT, CA, GHG, and CTP came up with the idea and contributed equally to the study design. All the authors contributed with important intellectual input to interpretation of the data and to the discussion.

None of the authors report any competing interests. GHG was supported by an independent research scholarship from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and CA was supported by an independent research grant from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology, and Innovation (the Danish Medical Research Council, grant no. FSS-11-120873). The sources of funding had no influence on the study design or on interpretation of data.