Body Mass Index Has a Nonlinear Association With Postoperative 30-Day Mortality in Patients Undergoing Craniotomy for Tumors in Men: An Analysis of Data From the ACS NSQIP Database

BACKGROUND

The association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality is controversial. Thus, the purpose of our research was to survey the association between BMI and postoperative 30-day mortality in brain tumor patients undergoing craniotomy.

METHODS

This study analyzed data collected in a multicenter, cross-sectional study that consecutively and nonselectively collected data from a total of 18,642 patients undergoing craniotomy for tumors in the ACS NSQIP from 2012 to 2015. We constructed three linear and non-linear binomial logistic models (the inflection point was set at 18.5) to evaluate the association between BMI and postoperative 30-day mortality, respectively. We also conducted subgroup analyses. Additionally, we compared non-linear models with vs. without interaction with sex.

RESULTS

A total of 17,713 patients were included in this analysis. Of these, 47.38% were male. The postoperative 30-day mortality of the included cases was 2.39% (423/17,713), and the mean BMI was 28.41 ± 6.05 kg/m². The linear logistic models suggested that after adjusting for the covariates, BMI was not associated with postoperative 30-day mortality (OR=0.999; 95% CI: 0.981, 1.017). The non-linear binomial logistic models suggested a nonlinear relationship between BMI and postoperative 30-day mortality. When BMI was < 18.5, we observed a stronger negative association between them after adjusting for covariates; the OR and 95% CI were 0.719, 0.576-0.896. When BMI was > 18.5, the relationship between them was not significant. We also found that a one-unit decrease in BMI for male patients with BMI < 18.5 kg/m² was related to a 34.6% increase in the risk of postoperative 30-day mortality (OR=0.654, 95% CI (0.472, 0.907). There was no significant association between them in male patients with BMI > 18.5 kg/m² or female patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates a non-linear relationship between BMI and the risk of postoperative death. Preoperative underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m²) would increase the risk of postoperative death in male patients (> 18 years old) undergoing craniotomy for brain tumors. Appropriate nutritional management prior to craniotomy for brain tumors may reduce the risk of postoperative 30-day mortality in underweight men.