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Obesity is Associated with Worse Outcomes in COVID‐19: Analysis of Early Data from New York City
Author(s) -
Hajifathalian Kaveh,
Kumar Sonal,
Newberry Carolyn,
Shah Shawn,
Fortune Brett,
Krisko Tibor,
OrtizPujols Shiara,
Zhou Xi Kathy,
Dannenberg Andrew J.,
Kumar Rekha,
Sharaiha Reem Z.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.22923
Subject(s) - medicine , obesity , intensive care unit , disease , retrospective cohort study , mortality rate , pediatrics , severity of illness , pandemic , emergency medicine , covid-19 , intensive care medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty)
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.