Obesity and COVID-19: An Italian Snapshot

The clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) run from asymptomatic disease to severe acute respiratory syndrome. Older age and comorbidities are associated to more severe disease. A role of obesity is suspected.

Patients hospitalized in the medical COVID-19 ward with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-related pneumonia were enrolled. The primary outcome of the study was to assess the relationship between the severity of COVID-19 and obesity classes according to BMI.

A total of 92 patients (61.9% males; age 70.5 [13.3] years) were enrolled. Patients with overweight and obesity were younger than patients with normal weight (68.0 [12.6] and 67.0 [12.6] years vs. 76.1 [13.0] years, P < 0.01). A higher need for assisted ventilation beyond pure oxygen support (invasive mechanical ventilation or noninvasive ventilation) and a higher admission to intensive or semi-intensive care units were observed in patients with overweight and obesity (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) even after adjusting for sex, age, and comorbidities (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively) or when patients with dementia or advanced cancer were removed from the analysis (P < 0.05).

Patients with overweight and obesity admitted in a medical ward for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-related pneumonia, despite their younger age, required more frequently assisted ventilation and access to intensive or semi-intensive care units than normal weight patients.