Indian Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (Jan 2021)
Influence of body mass index on developing ulceration in patients with venous disease: A case–control study
Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the development of ulceration in patients with venous disease. We also analyzed other risk factors that might lead to the progression of disease to ulceration. Design: A prospective case–control study from January 2016 to June 2017. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at the vascular surgery outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in India. One hundred and thirty cases with an active or healed venous ulcer were compared with 130 controls with no ulceration. A questionnaire was administered to look at the factors that influence the risk of developing ulceration. The patients underwent a clinical examination and the clinical class of venous disease was documented using the Clinical, Etiological, Anatomical and Pathophysiological classification. The patient's height and weight were measured, and the BMI was calculated. Results: The mean BMI of the study population was 29.04. Nearly 38.8% of the 260 patients recruited were obese and another 38.8% were overweight. Nearly 35.4% of the cases and 42.3% of the controls were obese. About 45.5% of the obese patients had an active or healed ulcer. About 77.8% of the patients with recurrent ulcers were either overweight or obese. However, on comparing the BMI between the cases and controls, there was no statistically significant difference. On multivariate analysis, we found older age, male gender, deep-vein thrombosis, and prolonged periods of standing, to have a significant association with ulceration in venous disease. Conclusion: Our study suggests that there is no association between BMI and ulceration in patients with venous disease. Older age, male gender, deep-vein thrombosis, and periods of prolonged standing have a higher association with venous ulceration.
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