Impact of Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obesity on Outcomes of Sepsis Complicated by Septic Shock in Elderly Patients.

Purpose: Obesity is a risk factor for sepsis complications in older adults. We assessed the impact of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUHO) on outcomes in septic shock.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis using the National Inpatient Sample (2016-2020) to identify a cohort of 1,737,075 patients aged 65 years and older who were hospitalized with septic shock, as defined by ICD-10 diagnosis codes. Obese patients without hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia were classified as MHO; those with ≥1 risk factor as MUHO. Baseline demographics and hospital characteristics were compared using χ² and Mann-Whitney U tests. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, race, comorbidity index, and hospital factors estimated odds ratios (ORs) for respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation, in-hospital mortality, and cardiac arrest. Secondary endpoints included length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization cost.

Results

Among 268 050 obese patients, 23 915 (1.4%) were classified as MHO and 244 135 (14.1%) as MUHO. Both phenotypes were more prevalent in females and least common among Asian patients. MHO prevalence was highest among Native Americans, while MUHO was most common among Hispanics in 2020. From 2016 to 2019, the prevalence of both phenotypes remained stable, with modest increases observed during the 2020 sepsis surge. Respiratory failure occurred most frequently in the MHO group (∼70%), followed by MUHO (∼65%) and non-obese patients (∼60%). After adjusting for confounders, both MHO and MUHO groups had higher odds of respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation compared to non-obese patients. In-hospital mortality increased across all groups in 2020; however, MUHO patients had lower adjusted mortality risk. Cardiac arrest rates remained unchanged, while length of stay and hospitalization costs were highest among MHO patients.

Conclusions

MHO and MUHO both confer higher respiratory failure and ventilation risk; lower mortality in MUHO warrants further study.Clinical ImplicationsPhenotypic obesity classification may improve sepsis risk stratification and inform metabolic-specific management.