Background: Obesity is a recognized, preventable risk factor for the development of heart failure (HF); however, little is understood about its effects on patients with established HF. Furthermore, few researchers have assessed obesity's effect on the health status of established HF patients. This study evaluated the influence of obesity on the health status, at baseline and 1 year later, on patients with established HF.
Methods and results: Comprehensive clinical data, health status, and obesity classification of 543 HF outpatients from 13 centers was assessed at baseline and 1 year later. Health status was quantified with the generic Short Form-12 and disease-specific Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Overall Summary score. Cross-sectional and longitudinal risk-adjusted general linear models were computed comparing the health status of patients who were classified as either underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. Obesity classification was not significantly associated with patients' baseline health status and did not predict 1-year health status.
Conclusions: Although obesity has been reported to confer a survival advantage to patients with HF, it was not associated with better health status at baseline, or after 1 year, in our cohort. Better understanding of the relationship among HF, body weight, and health status is needed before evidence-based recommendations can be made regarding weight management for HF patients.