Researchers identified 137 cases of the infection between November 2011 and April 2012 at Boston Medical Center, a regional safety net hospital. Patients with C. diff were classified as having either community-onset or hospital-acquired infections.
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Within the community-onset group, obese patients accounted for 34 percent of C. diff cases, statistically higher than the Massachusetts state obesity average, which is 23 percent.
Those with community-onset C. diff after exposure to a healthcare setting had higher rates of irritable bowl syndrome and lower rates of prior exposure to antibiotics than patients with hospital-acquired C. diff, suggesting obesity is independently associated with the development of C. diff.
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