title: Prevalence of low body mass index among newly diagnosed lung cancer patients in North India and its association with smoking status.
abstract: There is limited data from South Asia on the prevalence of low body mass index (BMI) among newly diagnosed lung cancer patients at presentation and its association with smoking status. A retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients is presented here. Patients were categorized as normal/overweight (BMI ≥ 18.50 kg/m2; group I), mild/moderately underweight (BMI = 16.00-18.49 kg/m2; group II) or severely underweight (BMI < 16.0 kg/m2; group III). Smoking status was assessed using the smoking index (SI; product of number of bidis/cigarettes smoked per day with number of years smoked). Based on the SI, patients were categorized as never-smokers, light/moderate smokers [SI = 1-300] and heavy smokers [SI ≥ 301]. A low BMI was present in 155 (44.3%) patients. Compared to group I, patients in groups II and III had higher percentages of men and current/ex-smokers. On univariate logistic regression analysis (LRA), SI = 1-300 [odds ratio (OR) = 2.75; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.27-5.97] and SI ≥ 301 [OR = 4.57; 95% CI = 2.20-9.49] were associated with higher odds of the presence of low BMI among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients while female sex had lower odds [OR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.16-0.72]. On multivariate LRA, only SI ≥ 301 [OR = 3.74; 95% CI = 1.59-8.80] had a significant association with occurrence of low BMI. Low BMI is common among newly diagnosed lung cancer patients in North India. Heavy smoking is independently associated with presence of low BMI at presentation among NSCLC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Navneet
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Ashutosh N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Dheeraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Digambar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Behera
keywords: Body mass index; India; heavy smoking; lung cancer; smoking index