P1946 - Acute Stressor in Predisposed Patients Is the Most Common Predictor of Weight Gain in Veteran Population

Roshan Warman¹, Nikhil Reddy, MS², Ivana Radosavljevic, MS², Sonya Bhaskar, MD³, Omar Calderon, MD², Maria Vandenlangenberg, RD⁴, Lillie Lewis, BA⁴, Philip Foulis, MD⁴, Gitanjali Vidyarthi, MD^4
1Yale University, New Haven, CT; ²USF, Tampa, FL; ³University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL; ⁴James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, FL

Introduction: Obesity has continued to persist as a national epidemic and the trend is increasing at an alarming rate with about 35% of Americans obese. Risks associated with obesity are complex and many links are still difficult to understand. There are many factors beyond eating more and exercising less that have been inked. If we had a good understanding of how the independent risk factors of obesity interact and influence weight then specific interventions could be implemented to prevent weight gain. Thus the purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk factors associated with acute gain in weight

Methods: Our study is a IRB approved retrospective cohort study where 53 patients with appropriate controls were studied. A patient with BMI of at least 31 who was gained a BMI of at least 5 in a period of 12 months were included as subjects and patients who had BMI of 18-23 and maintained their weight served as controls. 33 variables were studied which included age, ethnicity, psychiatric history, acute stressors, family history of obesity, substance abuse, combat veteran, exposure to toxins eg agent orange, endocrine disorder, medications which can be associated with weight changes and presence of social support.

Results: The studies population was predominantly male veterans with mean age of patients was 52 (range 29-69). Out of several factors studied as above, acute stressor in the setting of background psychiatric disorder was the strongest risk factor for acute gain in weight with Odds ratio of 5. Acute stress ranged from personal loss or medical or surgical urgencies. Other significant variables associated with increase in weight was administration of Gabapentin, insulin and lack of social support. Interestingly family history of obesity, endocrine disorders and substance abuse were not significantly different in the 2 groups.

Discussion: Our study is the first to our knowledge to study a vast range of variables associated gain of weight with acute stressor being identified as a very strong predictor of weight gain in predisposed patients. This finding is particularly relevant as during the acute phase of illness a patient is under the care of a medical provider. If providers are able to recognize this predisposition then specific interventions to prevent weight gain can be implemented at the time of management of acute stress. Given the increasing incidence of obesity the value of this will only increase with time.


Disclosures:
Roshan Warman indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Nikhil Reddy indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Ivana Radosavljevic indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Sonya Bhaskar indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Omar Calderon indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Maria Vandenlangenberg indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Lillie Lewis indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Philip Foulis indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Gitanjali Vidyarthi indicated no relevant financial relationships.


Roshan Warman¹, Nikhil Reddy, MS², Ivana Radosavljevic, MS², Sonya Bhaskar, MD³, Omar Calderon, MD², Maria Vandenlangenberg, RD⁴, Lillie Lewis, BA⁴, Philip Foulis, MD⁴, Gitanjali Vidyarthi, MD⁴. P1946 - Acute Stressor in Predisposed Patients Is the Most Common Predictor of Weight Gain in Veteran Population, ACG 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Las Vegas, Nevada: American College of Gastroenterology.