Table 1. Baseline patient characteristics by body mass index (BMI) groups (N = 70,028)a
| Characteristic | Normal BMI (n = 34,046) | High BMI (n = 35,982) |
|---|---|---|
| a Normal BMI, 18.5 ≤ BMI ≤ 24.9 kg/m2; high BMI, ≥25.0 kg/m2. | ||
| b Differences between groups were not significant (P ≥ 0.05). For all other comparisons, P < 0.05. | ||
| Age, mean ± SD (yr) | 66 ± 15.0 | 64 ± 13.3 |
| Male gender, n (%) | 18,106 (53) | 15,582 (43) |
| Race, n (%) | ||
| white | 23,231 (68) | 23,431 (65) |
| African American | 7891 (23) | 10,033 (28) |
| other | 2924 (9) | 2518 (7) |
| Medicare insurance, n (%) | 22,043 (65) | 21,179 (59) |
| Comorbid condition, n (%) | ||
| diabetes as cause of renal failure | 13,057 (38) | 18,795 (52) |
| coronary artery disease | 11,727 (34) | 11,630 (32) |
| cerebrovascular accident | 4123 (12) | 3677 (10) |
| peripheral vascular disease | 6783 (20) | 6385 (18) |
| heart failureb | 13,962 (41) | 14,976 (42) |
| lung disease | 3412 (10) | 2713 (8) |
| cancer | 2084 (6) | 1713 (5) |
| current smoker | 2334 (7) | 1691 (5) |
| Functional status, n (%) | ||
| requires assistance to transferb | 626 (2) | 610 (2) |
| requires assistance to ambulateb | 1819 (5) | 1850 (5) |
| Nutritional parameters | ||
| BMI, mean ± SD (kg/m2) | 22.0 ± 1.8 | 30.5 ± 4.9 |
| weight (kg) | 62.2 ± 9.2 | 82.9 ± 14.6 |
| 24-h urine creatinine (g/dl) | 0.76 ± 0.35 | 0.86 ± 0.39 |
| Serum albumin, mean ± SD (g/dl) | 3.1 ± 0.7 | 3.2 ± 0.6 |
| Outcome | ||
| all-cause death | 16,285 (48) | 13,677 (38) |
| cardiovascular death | 8388 (25) | 7413 (21) |