Extreme Obesity Raises Death Risk from H1N1 Flu

Extreme obesity was associated with an increased risk of death for people infected with the H1N1 pandemic flu, researchers reported.

In a study of more than 500 patients who required inpatient care, those with a body mass index of 40 or more were nearly three times as likely to die as patients with a normal body mass index, according to Dr. Janice Louie of the California Department of Public Health in Richmond, Calif., and colleagues.

The risk was even greater for those in the upper ranges of extreme obesity, with a body mass index of 45 or more, Louie and colleagues reported in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.