Association between malnutrition and post-acute COVID-19 sequelae: A retrospective cohort study

Long coronavirus disease consists of health problems people experience after being infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). These can be severe and include respiratory, neurological, and gastrointestinal symptoms, with resulting detrimental impacts on quality of life. Although malnutrition has been shown to increase risk of severe disease and death during acute infection, less is known about its influence on post-acute COVID-19 outcomes. We addressed this critical gap in knowledge by evaluating malnutrition's impact on post-COVID-19 sequelae.

This study leveraged the National COVID Cohort Collaborative to identify a cohort of patients who were at least 28 days post-acute COVID-19 infection. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models evaluated the impact of malnutrition on the following postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2: (1) death, (2) long COVID diagnosis, (3) COVID-19 reinfection, and (4) other phenotypic abnormalities. A subgroup analysis evaluated these outcomes in a cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 with hospital-acquired (HAC) malnutrition.

The final cohort included 4,372,722 individuals, 78,782 (1.8%) with a history of malnutrition. Individuals with malnutrition had a higher risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 2.10; 95% CI: 2.04-2.17) and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection (aHR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.43-1.61) in the postacute period than those without malnutrition. In the subgroup, those with HAC malnutrition had a higher risk of death and long COVID diagnosis.

Nutrition screening for individuals with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection may be a crucial step in mitigating life-altering, negative postacute outcomes through early identification and intervention of patients with malnutrition.