PLoS Med: High BMI does not inhibit bacterial infections

December 12, 2020 /--- For a long time, some studies have shown that higher body mass index (BMI) can "protect" bacterial blood infections.
, researchers at Yale University's School of Public Health collaborated with colleagues at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
that this is not the case.
, they found that obesity increased the risk.
the study is the result of an innovative genetic analysis called Mendel Randomization, published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
researchers studied data from more than 55,000 people in Norway over a 23-year period.
researchers found that those with a genetic preference for higher BMI also had a higher risk of dying from blood infections, which was directly contradicted by earlier studies of the problem.
, senior author of the paper and an associate professor in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, said the genetic analysis could help dispel the bias about the relationship between previous BMI and blood infections.
, such as smoking habits and chronic diseases, which reduce BMI and increase the risk of death, may confuse the relationship between BMI and risk of death.
all these underlying biases, we get expectations from our understanding of the health effects of elevated BMI," said DeWan, a professor at the University of The United States.
does not mean that there are no other hidden biases, but it does address many of the known biases that people consider in epidemiological studies."
"it is not fully understood how higher BMI can lead to an increased risk of infection and death."
DeWan speculates that obesity is often associated with poor health and that it may be more difficult to fight blood infections in unhealthy individuals.
DeWan said he encouraged researchers to test the method in other groups to see the prevalent nature of their conclusions.
do this in the U.S., I suspect we might get a similar outcome," Dr. DeWan said.
likely to see the same trend, but it may not be so pronounced in other populations, " he said.
" (Bioon.com) Source: Higher BMI does not prevent bloodstreams Source: Tormod Rogne et al. Body mass index and risk of dying from a bloodstream infection: A Mendelian randomization study, PLOS Medicine (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003413。