BACKGROUND: Although there have been some reports regarding body mass index (BMI) and subtypes of stroke, there have been few concerning the relationship between BMI and location of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Determining the location of spontaneous ICH is important because outcome is thought to be affected by its location. The aim of this study was to determine whether location of spontaneous ICH varied according to BMI level.
METHODS: In this retrospective study, 463 patients with spontaneous ICH were divided into 3 groups according to BMI (kg/m(2)): <18.5 (underweight), 18.5 to 24.0 (normal weight), 24.0 to 29 (overweight), and >29.0 (obesity). We compared the clinical characteristics among patients with putaminal, thalamic, lobar, pontine, or cerebellar hemorrhage on univariate and multinominal logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS: Among the 5 locations, BMI level was lowest in patients with lobar hemorrhage and highest in those with pontine hemorrhage. Compared to patients with nonlobar hemorrhage, patients with lobar hemorrhage showed a higher proportion of individuals who were underweight, female, and age >70 years and a lower proportion who were hypertensive. Compared with patients with nonpontine hemorrhage, those with pontine hemorrhage showed a higher proportion of individuals who were obese.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that BMI can affect the location of spontaneous ICH.