Association between body mass index and long-term all-cause mortality in critically ill patients without malignant tumors

Abstract

Background The “obesity paradox” in certain diseases has been reported in previous studies. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between BMI and long-term mortality in all critically ill patients without malignant tumors who were admitted to the ICU. Methods Using the MIMIC-IV 2.2 database, we included all ICU admissions for patients without malignant tumors and categorized them into four groups based on the World Health Organization (WHO) obesity criteria. The relationship between BMI and 90-day, 180-day, and 1-year mortality was analyzed using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models, along with restricted cubic spline (RCS) models to account for potential non-linear associations. Results A total of 19,089 patients were included, with 90-day, 180-day, and 1-year mortality rates of 18.35%, 20.80%, and 23.96%, respectively. Overweight and obese patients exhibited significantly lower mortality rates compared to underweight and normal-weight individuals at all time points. After adjusting for confounders, higher BMI remained a protective factor for long-term mortality (HR 0.65–0.72, P < 0.001). RCS curves demonstrated a U-shaped relationship between BMI and mortality, and subgroup analyses confirmed the protective effect of higher BMI in different subgroups. Conclusion The “obesity paradox” may apply to critically ill patients without malignant tumors.