Ample studies have reported the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, but the results remain inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a dose-response meta-analysis to clarify the relationship between BMI and all-cause mortality in this population. A systematic search was performed in the PubMed and Embase databases through April 2019 for studies that reported the impact of BMI on all-cause mortality in patients after cardiac surgery. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Non-linear associations were explored with restricted cubic spline models. Forty-one studies with a total of 54,300 cases/1,774,387 patients were included. The pooled RR for all-cause mortality was 0.93 (95% CI 0.89-0.97) for every 5-unit increment in BMI, indicating that higher BMI did not increase the risk of all-cause mortality in patients after cardiac surgery. A U-shaped association with the nadir of risk at a BMI of 25-27.5 kg/m2 was observed, as well as a higher mortality risk for the underweight and the extremely obese patients. The subgroup analysis revealed that this phenomenon remained regardless of mean age, surgery type, geographic location and number of cases. Overall, for patients after cardiac surgery, a slightly higher BMI may be instrumental in survival, whereas underweight and extreme obesity is associated with a worse prognosis.
Keywords: Body mass index; Cardiac surgery; Coronary artery bypass grafting; Left ventricular assist devices; Meta-analysis; Valve surgery.
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