Introduction: Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH) leads to high rates of morbidity and mortality. Malnutrition is common in stroke patients and leads to worse outcomes. Body mass index (BMI) is a widely available marker of nutrition status, however studies on BMI and post-ICH outcomes are limited and have conflicting results. We aim to clarify this relationship by examining the relationship between BMI, nutritional lab markers, ICH severity, and functional outcome at discharge stratified by ICH location. Methods: We leveraged data from an ongoing longitudinal ICH study of adults with spontaneous primary ICH. Patients were divided into underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese according to World Health Organization BMI criteria. Albumin, B12, total bilirubin, cholesterol, CRP, ferritin, iron, folate, hbA1c, HDL, LDL, hemoglobin, MCV, INR, ALT, triglycerides, and vitamin D were abstracted from health records. Associations between BMI, lab markers, ICH volume, and favorable outcome (mRS 0-2) were analyzed using univariate and multivariable logistic regression stratified by deep versus lobar hemorrhage location, with normal weight as the reference. Results: 1,370 patients (719 with deep hemorrhage, 651 with lobar hemorrhage) were included. There was no association between BMI and ICH volume in patients with deep or lobar hemorrhage. Multivariable analyses adjusting for age, education, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, alcohol use, ICH volume, and intraventricular hemorrhage showed that overweight, but not underweight or obese, subjects had higher odds of favorable outcome on discharge in the deep (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.36-7.34) and lobar (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.67-5.94) groups. Albumin (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.05-4.90) and hemoglobin (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.09-1.59) were the only labs associated with favorable outcome in the deep hemorrhage group while no markers were associated with favorable outcome in the lobar hemorrhage group. Albumin and hemoglobin were not associated with being overweight. Conclusion: Overweight patients had three times higher odds of favorable outcome after both deep and lobar hemorrhages. This was not driven by ICH severity or explained by lab markers. Future biomarker studies are needed to better understand this relationship.
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