Introduction:

In recent studies a relationship between obesity and colorectal polyps has been found. In Mexico, a significant percentage of the population suffers from obesity, which isn't considered an independent risk factor for colorectal cancer screening.

Objectives:

Determine whether obese patients have colorectal adenomatous polyps more frequently in comparison with non-obese patients, as these lesions represent the precursor of colon cancer.

Materials and methods:

A cross-sectional, retrospective study was carried out, with patients undergoing colonoscopy in the central hospitals of Petróleos Mexicanos over a period of 4 years. We reviewed a total of 614 records and the variables studied were: age, sex, body mass index, personal and family history of colon cancer, ulcerative colitis over 10 years and histopathological diagnosis. To determine the impact of obesity on the appearance of adenomatous polyps, we perform a multiple linear regression technique to evaluate the extent to which the variables are related, and the odds ratio has been calculated to determine the main objective of the study.

Results:

614 patients were included, 69.4% were women, and the average age is 60.91 + 14.66 years. The prevalence of adenomatous polyps is 17.4%. Overweight and obesity stand out with a frequency of 242 (39.4%) and 117 cases (19.1%) respectively. The analysis of the relationship between obesity and the presence of adenomatous polyps was 3.6%, with an odds ratio of 2.8.

Conclusions:

In the studied population, obese patients had colorectal adenomatous polyps almost 3 times more frequently compared to those who are not.