HumbleLand
Otter Creek, Lake Cumberland Kentucky
Diabetes a
Greater Risk for Death Than Obesity
Being
overweight may not always predict poor health outcomes, study finds
(HealthDay
News) -- 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
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.
More information
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
has more about
diabetes.
-- Krisha McCoy
SOURCE: BioMed
Central, news release, Sept. 24, 2006
