The Study
Predictive efficacy of rectus abdominis muscle and psoas major muscle thickness for postoperative morbidity in patients with endometrial cancer
This study looked at a group of women who had surgery and found that those who got sick afterward tended to be older and had longer surgeries. It also noticed that their stomach muscles were a little thinner, but that might just be because older people are thinner overall. So it’s like noticing that people who get colds often also wear hats — but that doesn’t mean hats cause colds.
Analysis score
Maximum 58 for a case-control study.
Where the score came from
Doctors looked at 141 women who had surgery for womb cancer to see if their stomach muscle thickness or how long the surgery took could predict if they’d get sick afterward.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 555 / 100
Quality score
Researchers compare people who have a condition (cases) with similar people who do not (controls), looking back in time for differences in exposure. Useful but more prone to bias.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — even small increases in age or surgery time significantly raise risk, meaning these are practical warning signs for doctors.
- 2Older women (each year older = 6% higher chance of sickness) and longer surgeries (each minute longer = 0.3% higher chance) were more likely to get sick.
- 3Stomach muscle thinner than 7.52 mm was linked to sickness, but only because older people tend to have thinner muscles.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of the Turkish German Gynecological Association
Year
2025
Authors
Hasan Burak Rastgeldi, Tufan Arslanca, Halitcan Batur, Okan Aytekin, A. Tokalıoğlu, F. Kılıç, T. Turan
Related Content
Claims (6)
For women having open abdominal surgery to treat endometrial cancer, older age is linked to a higher chance of complications within three months after surgery, even when other factors are taken into account.
For women having open abdominal surgery to treat endometrial cancer, the thickness of the psoas major muscle does not reliably predict whether they will experience complications after surgery.
In women having open abdominal surgery for endometrial cancer, having thinner abdominal muscles (below 7.52 mm) is linked to a 44.8% chance of experiencing complications after surgery, but this link is not strong enough to be considered a standalone predictor once age and surgery length are taken into account.
For women having open abdominal surgery to treat endometrial cancer, a muscle thickness measurement of 7.52 mm in the rectus abdominis is used to estimate the likelihood of complications after surgery, but this threshold correctly identifies only about half of those who will have complications.
For women having open abdominal surgery to treat endometrial cancer, longer surgery times are linked to a slightly higher chance of complications within three months after surgery, even when accounting for age and other variables.
To see abdominal muscles, a person needs to have a low enough level of fat over the abdomen and enough muscle mass in the rectus abdominis.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.