TY - JOUR
T1 - Obesity is Associated with Worse Outcomes in COVID-19
T2 - Analysis of Early Data from New York City
AU - Hajifathalian, Kaveh
AU - Kumar, Sonal
AU - Newberry, Carolyn
AU - Shah, Shawn
AU - Fortune, Brett
AU - Krisko, Tibor
AU - Ortiz-Pujols, Shiara
AU - Zhou, Xi Kathy
AU - Dannenberg, Andrew J.
AU - Kumar, Rekha
AU - Sharaiha, Reem Z.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Obesity Society.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Objective: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has triggered a rapidly expanding global pandemic in which patients exhibit a wide spectrum of disease severity. Given the high prevalence of obesity in the United States, we hypothesized that the presence of obesity may play a role in the clinical course of patients with COVID-19. Methods: This is a retrospective review of adult patients admitted with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and clinical outcomes were abstracted. BMI (kilograms per meter squared) was analyzed with regard to a composite outcome of intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death and intubation rate. Results: About 770 patients were included (61% male, mean age 63.5 years). Patients with obesity were more likely to present with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Obesity was also associated with a significantly higher rate of ICU admission or death (RR = 1.58, P = 0.002) even after adjusting for age, race, and troponin level. Conclusions: Patients with obesity had an increased risk for critical illness leading to ICU admission or death compared with normal weight individuals. This study confirms that obesity is a major risk factor for COVID-19 disease severity, significantly impacting disease presentation and critical care requirements.
AB - Objective: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has triggered a rapidly expanding global pandemic in which patients exhibit a wide spectrum of disease severity. Given the high prevalence of obesity in the United States, we hypothesized that the presence of obesity may play a role in the clinical course of patients with COVID-19. Methods: This is a retrospective review of adult patients admitted with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and clinical outcomes were abstracted. BMI (kilograms per meter squared) was analyzed with regard to a composite outcome of intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death and intubation rate. Results: About 770 patients were included (61% male, mean age 63.5 years). Patients with obesity were more likely to present with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Obesity was also associated with a significantly higher rate of ICU admission or death (RR = 1.58, P = 0.002) even after adjusting for age, race, and troponin level. Conclusions: Patients with obesity had an increased risk for critical illness leading to ICU admission or death compared with normal weight individuals. This study confirms that obesity is a major risk factor for COVID-19 disease severity, significantly impacting disease presentation and critical care requirements.
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U2 - 10.1002/oby.22923
DO - 10.1002/oby.22923
M3 - Article
C2 - 32470210
AN - SCOPUS:85088540604
SN - 1930-7381
VL - 28
SP - 1606
EP - 1612
JO - Obesity
JF - Obesity
IS - 9
ER -