Overview

• Among 414 patients aged 65 and older, 30-day mortality was 0.8% for those classified as overweight versus 18.8% for normal BMI and 15.0% for underweight.
• The single-center study examined major elective surgeries performed from February 2019 to January 2022 at a large Southern California academic hospital.
• Associations persisted after adjustments for age, frailty, and comorbidities, including cancer, according to the authors.
• Overweight status was also linked to fewer postoperative complications and a higher likelihood of discharge to home in reporting on the findings.
• The authors situate the results within the obesity paradox and recommend further research to guide updates to surgical risk calculators and counseling, noting at least one media report misstated the underweight mortality rate.