TY - JOUR AU - Flippin, Michael AU - Harris, Jessica AU - Paxton, Elizabeth W. AU - Prentice, Heather A. AU - Fithian, Donald C. AU - Ward, Samuel R. AU - Gombatto, Sara P. PY - 2017 TI - Effect of body mass index on patient outcomes of surgical intervention for the lumbar spine JF - Journal of Spine Surgery; Vol 3, No 3 (September 29, 2017): Journal of Spine Surgery Y2 - 2017 KW - N2 - Background: Conflicting findings exist on the effect of obesity on outcomes of lumbar spine surgery; results depend on the diagnosis studied, procedure evaluated, definition of obesity, and specific outcomes measured. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study is to examine the effect of increasing body mass index (BMI) on surgical-related, health-related, and long-term outcomes of lumbar spine surgery in a single representative patient sample. Methods: Using a surgical registry from an integrated health care system, 8,049 instrumented lumbar spine cases were identified between 1/1/2009 and 09/30/2013. The sample was stratified into five BMI categories. Outcomes of interest included: (I) surgical-related factors and complications; (II) health-related complications; and (III) long-term complications. Mixed linear models, conditional logistic regressions, and survival analysis using a Cox regression model were conducted controlling for surgeon effects. Age, gender, diabetes status, smoking status, admitting diagnosis, and surgical approach were included as covariates. Results: Every 5 kg/m 2 2 Conclusions: Obesity had an adverse effect on certain surgical-related, health-related and long-term surgical outcomes. The magnitude of this effect increased with increasing levels of obesity, which increases the medical burden associated with obesity. UR - https://jss.amegroups.org/article/view/3846