SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-A Retrospective Analysis of the Impact of Obesity and Diabetes on Stroke Severity

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This retrospective chart review examined 405 patients with acute ischemic stroke treated at Piedmont Athens Regional from 2019 to 2022 to assess how pre-stroke obesity and diabetes affect stroke severity. Patients were grouped by diabetes status and BMI category: under/normal weight, overweight, and obese. Stroke severity was measured using National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at admission and discharge, and age was also analyzed. Statistical tests included t-tests and one-way ANOVAs.<br /><br />Overall, the study found a counterintuitive pattern: patients with lower BMI and those without diabetes tended to have more severe strokes. Specifically, patients without diabetes showed a trend toward higher admission NIHSS scores than those with diabetes, and under/normal-weight patients had higher discharge NIHSS scores. Obese patients were younger at the time of stroke than patients in other BMI groups, which may partly explain why obesity appeared linked to less severe stroke outcomes.<br /><br />The authors suggest these findings may reflect the “obesity paradox,” where obesity is associated with better outcomes in some disease settings despite being a major risk factor for developing stroke. They also propose that diabetes may have a similar apparent protective association in this dataset, though the mechanism is unclear.<br /><br />The study concludes that obesity and diabetes may unexpectedly be associated with less severe ischemic stroke presentations, possibly influenced by age differences. The authors recommend future longitudinal studies to better understand how obesity and diabetes affect stroke recovery and to investigate the biological mechanisms behind the obesity paradox.

Asset Subtitle

Sean Mahajan

Meta Tag

Author List Aisha Bushra, Brendan Jarvis, Deborah Barany, Evan Castellano, Hope Nestlehutt, Jing Xu, Megha Sequeira, Sean Mahajan, Wylie Frazier

Category Research

Concept Obesity

Concept Ischemic Stroke

Concept Diabetes Mellitus

Concept Stroke Severity

Concept National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Medical College of Georgia

Presenting Author Sean Mahajan

Track Outcomes Research

Keywords

acute ischemic stroke

obesity paradox

diabetes

BMI

NIHSS

stroke severity

retrospective chart review

age differences

stroke outcomes

Piedmont Athens Regional

Obesity

Ischemic Stroke

Diabetes Mellitus

Stroke Severity

National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale