Godin Anny, Redpath Margaret, Guay Jean-Pierre, Sauvageau Anny
Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale, 1701, Parthenais street, 12th floor, Montreal (Quebec), Canada H2K 3S7.
J Forensic Leg Med. 2010 Jul;17(5):261-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2010.03.002. Epub 2010 Apr 1.
Despite a dramatic increase in the worldwide prevalence of overweight and obese people in recent years, the implication of this epidemic on forensic practice has barely been studied. Over a one-year period, all autopsy cases performed on adult victims in the province of Quebec (Canada) were retrospectively reviewed (582 cases). In the forensic population, manner of death differed in relation to BMI: underweight people most commonly died of natural causes, whereas normal weight, overweight and obese individuals most commonly died as the result of an accident. Results also revealed an over-representation of underweight victims and under-representation of overweight victims in the forensic population compared to the population of both Quebec and Canada. The latter is particularly worrisome considering it suggests that overweight corpses are less frequently referred for an autopsy. It is important to emphasize to forensic teams that just because an obese person is more likely to suffer from health problems that can lead to death, does not mean a natural death has occurred. Obese people are equally susceptible to unnatural causes of death and it is crucial to maintain an adequate level of suspicion while investigating the cases of these individuals.
尽管近年来全球超重和肥胖人群的患病率急剧上升，但这一流行病对法医实践的影响却几乎未得到研究。在一年的时间里，对加拿大魁北克省成年受害者进行的所有尸检病例进行了回顾性审查（共582例）。在法医群体中，死亡方式因身体质量指数（BMI）而异：体重过轻的人最常死于自然原因，而正常体重、超重和肥胖的个体最常死于意外事故。结果还显示，与魁北克省和加拿大的总体人群相比，法医群体中体重过轻的受害者比例过高，超重的受害者比例过低。考虑到这表明超重尸体较少被送去进行尸检，后者尤其令人担忧。必须向法医团队强调，仅仅因为肥胖者更有可能患有可能导致死亡的健康问题，并不意味着就是自然死亡。肥胖者同样容易死于非自然原因，在调查这些人的案件时保持足够的怀疑程度至关重要。
