This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Greater BMI linked with postoperative neck disability in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy
Patients with an increased BMI, especially those who were obese, experienced increased postoperative neck disability after lumbar spine surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy, according to study results.
Researchers analyzed 757 patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy. Investigators collected data which included age, sex, marital status, education level, race, symptom duration, previous treatment and BMI. There were 17 patients who were underweight, 271 patients with normal weight, 275 patients who were overweight and 194 patients who were obese. At 1-year postoperatively, investigators evaluated the impact of elevated BMI on the Neck Disability Index (NDI), modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) score and SF-36 scores. The association between preoperative BMI and the outcome measures as a continuous variable and categorical variable were analyzed with bivariate and multivariable statistics.
Findings controlled for preoperative measures showed elevated preoperative BMI correlated with increased neck disability at 1 year. Patients who were overweight and obese had average NDI scores that were 4.5 points and 5.7 points higher, respectively, compared with patients who were normal weight. Investigators noted patients who were obese compared with those who were normal weight had 0.5-times odds of seeing improvement similar to the minimally clinically important difference of NDI. There was no correlation between BMI and mJOA at 1-year postoperatively, although investigators noted a trend of decreased SF-36 mental component and physical component scores with an elevated BMI. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: Wilson reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other financial disclosures.