I read with great interest the recent article by Olson et al. titled “Evaluation of the association between history of open chest or abdominal surgery and cardiovascular risks: an NHANES study, January 2007 – March 2020,” published in January 2026 in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine [1]. Their retrospective study evaluated over 46,000 participants to identify potential relationships between metabolic and cardiovascular health indicators and a history of major surgery. The authors report a statistically significant association between elevated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and surgical history. However, the decision to combine open-chest and abdominal surgeries into a single category warrants further discussion.
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