Associations between diabesity and all-cause mortality: a prospective analysis of the Chilean National Health Survey 2009-2010

Objective. To investigate whether patients with diabesity (the combination of both conditions) have a higher mortality risk than isolated obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2D), particularly when waist-circumference (WC) is used as a criterion for obesity. Materials and methods. This longitudinal study included 4 514 Chilean participants from the Chilean National Health Survey 2009 and 2010. Participants were categorized into four groups based on WC and diagnosis of diabetes: a) normal, b) abdominal obesity-only, c) T2D-only, and d) diabesity. Cox proportional hazard models were performed to investigate the associations between diabesity and all-cause mortality. Analyses were also replicated using body mass index (BMI) categories. Results. After a median follow-up of 10.9 years, 445 (9.9%) participants died. In the fully-adjusted model, compared with participants with normal-conditions, those with diabesity had 1.37 (95%CI: 1.01,1.85) times higher all-cause mortality risk. Conclusions. Individuals with diabesity had a higher mortality risk compared to their counterparts. The WC instead of BMI can be a more sensitive predictor of mortality risk in the Chilean population.