Studies examining the relation of obesity and overweight with longer term mortality, recurrent coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke in patients with existing CHD
| Study (reference) | Study description | Outcome | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| All studies used a cohort design; assessment of obesity and overweight was based on body mass index (BMI); follow up was at least one year after study recruitment. | |||
| CVD, cardiovascular disease; MI, myocardial infarction. | |||
| Physicians’ health study13 | 5010 men (age not reported) with self reported CHD or stroke; BMI categorised into 4 groups | 913 deaths comprising 703 CVD deaths after mean of 5 years’ surveillance | Reverse “J” shaped relation of BMI groups with total and CVD mortality |
| Group health cooperative15 | 2677 men and women aged 30 to 79 years with a hospital admission for MI; BMI categorised into quintiles | 431 deaths; 445 reinfarctions (fatal and non-fatal); 124 strokes (fatal or non-fatal) after mean of 3.4 years’ surveillance | Relation of BMI with CHD was “J” shaped, null with stroke (estimates not reported), and reverse “J” shaped with total mortality |
| Diet and reinfarction trial16 | 2033 men (age not reported) with a hospital discharge record for MI; BMI categorised into quartiles | 1083 deaths comprising 739 CHD deaths after up to 17 years’ surveillance | Reverse “J” shaped relation of BMI with total and CHD mortality |
| Group health cooperative12 | 691 women aged 66.2 years (mean) with a hospital discharge record for MI; BMI categorised into thin, normal weight, overweight, and obese | 166 deaths and 127 reinfarctions (fatal and non-fatal) after up to 13 years’ surveillance | BMI positively related to reinfarction; BMI–total mortality association “U” shaped |
| San Diego and Vancouver study14 | 1760 men and women (age and sex distribution not reported) with a hospital admission for acute MI; BMI categorised into normal weight, overweight, and underweight | Mortality and reinfarction after 12 months (numbers not reported) | Relation of BMI categories inverse for mortality and null for reinfarction |