Impact of increased body mass index on accuracy of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP for diagnosis of decompensated heart failure and prediction of all-cause mortality.
BACKGROUND
BNP and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) concentrations may be depressed in patients with increased body mass index (BMI). Whether increased BMI affects accuracy of these biomarkers for diagnosing decompensated heart failure (HF) and predicting outcomes is unknown.


METHODS
We measured BNP and NT-proBNP in 685 patients with possible decompensated HF in a free-living community population subdivided by BMI as obese, overweight, and normal weight. HF diagnosis was adjudicated by a cardiologist blinded to BNP and NT-proBNP results. We tabulated all-cause mortality over a median follow-up of 401 days and assessed marker accuracy for HF diagnosis and mortality by ROC analysis.


RESULTS
Of the 685 patients, 40.9% were obese (n = 280), 28.2% were overweight (n = 193), and 30.9% had normal BMI (n = 212). Obese patients had lower BNP and NT-proBNP compared with overweight or normal-weight individuals (P < 0.001) and decreased mortality compared with normal-weight individuals (P < 0.001). Both biomarkers added significantly to a multivariate logistic regression model for diagnosis of decompensated HF across BMI categories. NT-proBNP outperformed BNP for predicting all-cause mortality in normal-weight individuals (chi(2) for BNP = 6.4, P = 0.09; chi(2) for NT-proBNP = 16.5, P < 0.001). Multivariate regression showed that both biomarkers remained significant predictors of decompensated HF diagnosis in each BMI subgroup.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study population, obese patients had significantly lower BNP and NT-proBNP that reflected lower mortality. BNP and NT-proBNP can be used in all BMI groups for decompensated HF diagnosis, although BMI-specific cutpoints may be necessary to optimize sensitivity.
Christenson
Robert H
RH
Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. rchristenson@umm.edu
Azzazy
Hassan M E
HM
Duh
Show-Hong
SH
Maynard
Susan
S
Seliger
Stephen L
SL
Defilippi
Christopher R
CR
D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D010446:Peptide Fragments; C109794:pro-brain natriuretic peptide (1-76); D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain