Body mass index and mortality following primary graft dysfunction: A Lung Transplant Outcomes Group study

Higher body mass index (BMI) increases risk of developing primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplantation; whether BMI is associated with decreased survival after PGD is unknown. We utilized the Lung Transplant Outcomes Group (LTOG) cohort of 1,538 subjects from 2011-2018. We evaluated the association between pre-operative BMI and graft survival among subjects with severe PGD using Cox proportional hazards models with linear splines. Models were stratified by center and adjusted for sex, age, lung allocation score, and diagnosis. PGD developed in 383 subjects. Among subjects with PGD, low BMI was associated with increased mortality while high BMI was not associated with differential mortality, compared to normal BMI. Results were similar for 90-day and 1-year survival. While high BMI increases risk of developing PGD, it does not appear to be associated with survival after PGD. Future work should focus on PGD prevention rather than PGD management in patients with obesity.