A research team studying weight trajectory patterns in people with lower-limb amputations found that younger people, those under 20 years old, were more likely to gain weight, while those older than 20 were more likely to be in the stable weight group. The study about the work concluded that determining the factors associated with weight gain could inform preventive strategies.
The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of 931 service members with unilateral or bilateral lower-limb amputations (and without upper-limb amputations). The sample was predominately male (96 percent), relatively young (27 ± 8 years old), and had a mean weight of 78.0 ± 14.1 kg. Bodyweight and sociodemographic data were extracted from clinical encounters within electronic health records. Group-based trajectory modeling assessed weight change patterns two years after amputation.
Fifty-eight percent of the cohort had stable weight, 38 percent had weight gain (mean gain = 19.1 kg), and 4 percent had weight loss (mean loss = 14.5 kg). Individuals with bilateral amputations were more frequently noted in the weight loss group compared with those with unilateral amputations. Individuals with amputations because of trauma other than blasts were more frequently found in the stable weight group compared with those with amputations because of disease or a blast.
The open-access study, “Weight changes in young service members after lower limb amputation: Insights from group-based trajectory modeling,” was published in Military Medicine.
