The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of obesity on the outcomes of patients with lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage (LGIH).Obesity is considered as an independent risk factor for LGIH. We sought to analyze in-hospital outcomes and characteristics of nonobese and obese patients who presented with LGIH, and further, identify resource utilization during their hospital stay.With the use of National Inpatient Sample from January 2005 through December 2014, LGIH-related hospitalizations (age≥18 y) were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic codes. Patients were stratified into the nonobese and obese groups depending on their body mass index (>30 kg/m). The statistical analyses were performed using SAS 9.4.Of the total 482,711 patients with LGIH-related hospitalizations, 38,592 patients were found to be obese. In a propensity-matched analysis, the in-hospital mortality was higher in the nonobese patients (4.2% vs. 3.8%, P=0.004), however, the mean length of hospital stay and mean cost was higher in the obese group which could be due to a higher number of comorbidities in the obese group. Secondary outcomes such as the need for mechanical ventilation vasopressor use and colonoscopy was significantly higher in the obese group.The study results demonstrate that 'obesity paradox' do exist for LGIH-related hospitalizations for mortality. LGIH hospitalizations in the obese patients are associated with higher resource utilization as evidenced by the longer length of stay and higher cost of hospitalizations as compared with the nonobese patients.
