Reassuring results for the standard of care
Discussing their findings, the authors note that “the discrepancy among studies potentially reflects the shortcomings of overall obesity measured using BMI to capture clinically meaningful adiposity.”
“A small but growing body of literature suggests visceral adipose tissue is a potentially superior prognostic measure of adiposity and better predicts adverse outcomes in IBD.”
Dr. Singh said that it would be “very interesting” to examine the relationship between visceral adiposity, as inferred from waist circumference, and IBD outcomes.
Approached for comment, Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, Clifford Joseph Barborka Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, said, “At the present time, there are no new clinical implications based on this study.”
He said in an interview that it “does not require any change in the current standard of care but rather attempts to reassure that the standard of care does not change for obese patients.”
“With that being said, the standard of care may require dosing adjustments for patients based on weight, as is already the case for infliximab/ustekinumab, and monitoring to treat to target in obese patients as well as in normal or underweight patients,” Dr. Hanauer concluded.
The study was supported by the ACG Junior Faculty Development Award and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Career Development Award to Dr. Singh. Dr. Singh is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and reports relationships with AbbVie, Janssen, and Pfizer. The other authors report numerous financial relationships. Dr. Hanauer reports no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
