Body mass index and survival from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A meta-analysis. Issue 5 (October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dardiotis, Efthimios; Siokas, Vasileios; Sokratous, Maria; Tsouris, Zisis; Aloizou, Athina-Maria; Florou, Desponia; Dastamani, Metaxia; Mentis, Alexios-Fotios A.; Brotis, Alexandros G.
• Is Part Of: Neurology. Volume 8:Issue 5(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-10
• Subjects: Nervous system -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- United States -- Periodicals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000521
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2163-0402

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Several studies have examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and survival from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Many indicate that low BMI at diagnosis or during follow-up may be associated with accelerated progression and shortened survival. This study systematically evaluated the relationship between BMI and survival in patients with ALS. Methods: The PubMed database was searched to identify all available studies reporting time-to-event data. Eight studies with 6, 098 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria. BMI was considered a continuous and ordered variable. Interstudy heterogeneity was assessed by the Cochran Q test and quantified by the I 2 metric. Fixed- or random-effects odds ratios summarized pooled effects after taking interstudy variability into account. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The ALS survival hazard ratio (HR) decreased approximately by 3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2%–5%) for each additional BMI unit when BMI was considered a continuous variable. When BMI was considered a categorical variable, the HRs for "normal" BMI vs "overweight" BMI and "obese" BMI were estimated to be as high as 0.91 (95% CI: 0.79–1.04) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.60–1.01), respectively. The HR for the comparison of the "normal" BMI vs "underweight" BMI was estimated to be as high as 1.94 (95% CI: 1.42–2.65). Conclusions: BMI is significantly and inversely associated with ALS survival.