New research suggests that diabetes -- not
obesity -- puts people at risk of developing
critical illness and dying early.
In a study published in the Sept. 24 issue
of Critical Care, researchers from
the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital
in Lexington and Emory University School of
Medicine in Atlanta analyzed data from 15,408
people between the ages of 44 and 66.
The data included the participants' body-mass
index, presence of diabetes, and history of
critical illness and death within three years.
The researchers found that in the absence
of diabetes, obese people do not have a greater
risk of suffering from acute organ failure
or dying from acute organ failure than people
who are not obese.
On the other hand, people with diabetes --
regardless of their BMI -- are three times
more likely to become critically ill from
acute organ failure and three times more likely
to die from any cause than people without
diabetes.
The relationship between obesity, diabetes
and critical illness is complex, and obesity
by itself may not predict poor health outcomes,
the study authors concluded.
