Body-mass index and mortality in a prospective cohort of
U.S. adults.
Calle EE, Thun MJ, Petrelli JM, Rodriguez C, Heath CW Jr
Department of Epidemiology and Surveillance Research, American Cancer Society,
Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
BACKGROUND: Body-mass index (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of
the height in meters) is known to be associated with overall mortality. We
investigated the effects of age, race, sex, smoking status, and history of
disease on the relation between body-mass index and mortality. METHODS: In a
prospective study of more than 1 million adults in the United States (457,785
men and 588,369 women), 201,622 deaths occurred during 14 years of follow-up. We
examined the relation between body-mass index and the risk of death from all
causes in four subgroups categorized according to smoking status and history of
disease. In healthy people who had never smoked, we further examined whether the
relation varied according to race, cause of death, or age. The relative risk was
used to assess the relation between mortality and body-mass index. RESULTS: The
association between body-mass index and the risk of death was substantially
modified by smoking status and the presence of disease. In healthy people who
had never smoked, the nadir of the curve for body-mass index and mortality was
found at a body-mass index of 23.5 to 24.9 in men and 22.0 to 23.4 in women.
Among subjects with the highest body-mass indexes, white men and women had a
relative risk of death of 2.58 and 2.00, respectively, as compared with those
with a body-mass index of 23.5 to 24.9. Black men and women with the highest
body-mass indexes had much lower risks of death (1.35 and 1.21), which did not
differ significantly from 1.00. A high body-mass index was most predictive of
death from cardiovascular disease, especially in men (relative risk, 2.90; 95
percent confidence interval, 2.37 to 3.56). Heavier men and women in all age
groups had an increased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of death from all
causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other diseases increases throughout
the range of moderate and severe overweight for both men and women in all age
groups. The risk associated with a high body-mass index is greater for whites
than for blacks.
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