Evaluating the Cause of Death in Obese Individuals: A Ten-Year Medical Autopsy Study

Table 1

Characteristics of the obese and nonobese patient populations.

849 adult autopsies
	Obese	Nonobese
(%)	274 (32.3)	575 (67.7)
M : F	154 : 120 (1.28)	310 : 265 (1.17)
Age range-years (mean)	18–93 (64)	18–98 (66)
BMI kg/m^2 range	30–80.5	11.3–29.9
Obesity class I (BMI 30–34.9)	140 (51%)	—
Class II (BMI 35–39.9)	66 (24%)	—
Class III (BMI ≥40)	68 (25%)	—
Hypertension	167 (60.9%)	256 (44.5%)
Diabetes	97 (35.4%)	98 (17%)
Elevated triglyceride	50 (18.2%)	73 (12.7%)
Metabolic syndrome^*	80 (29%)	19 (3.3%)

American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute criteria (any 3 of 5 constitute diagnosis of metabolic syndrome): (1) elevated BP: ≥130 mm Hg systolic or ≥85 mm Hg diastolic or on antihypertensive drug treatment in a patient with a history of HTN, (2) elevated TG ≥150 mg/dL or on drug treatment for elevated TG, (3) fasting glucose ≥100 mg/dL or on drug treatment for elevated glucose, (4) elevated waist circumference: men ≥102 cm, women ≥88 cm, and (5) reduced HDL-C <40 mg/dL in men or <50 mg/dL in women or on drug treatment for reduced HDL-C [11].