TY - JOUR
T1 - We Should Do More to Offer Evidence-Based Treatment for an Important Modifiable Risk Factor for COVID-19
T2 - Obesity
AU - Dutta, Nirjhar
AU - Ingraham, Nicholas E.
AU - Usher, Michael G.
AU - Fox, Claudia
AU - Tignanelli, Christopher J.
AU - Bramante, Carolyn T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Observational studies, from multiple countries, repeatedly demonstrate an association between obesity and severe COVID-19, which is defined as need for hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) or death. Meta-analysis of studies from China, USA, and France show odds ratio (OR) of 2.31 (95% CI 1.3-4.1) for obesity and severe COVID-19. Other studies show OR of 12.1 (95% CI 3.25-45.1) for mortality and OR of 7.36 (95% CI 1.63-33.14) for need for IMV for patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2. Obesity is the only modifiable risk factor that is not routinely treated but treatment can lead to improvement in visceral adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and mortality risk. Increasing the awareness of the association between obesity and COVID-19 risk in the general population and medical community may serve as the impetus to make obesity identification and management a higher priority.
AB - Observational studies, from multiple countries, repeatedly demonstrate an association between obesity and severe COVID-19, which is defined as need for hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) or death. Meta-analysis of studies from China, USA, and France show odds ratio (OR) of 2.31 (95% CI 1.3-4.1) for obesity and severe COVID-19. Other studies show OR of 12.1 (95% CI 3.25-45.1) for mortality and OR of 7.36 (95% CI 1.63-33.14) for need for IMV for patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2. Obesity is the only modifiable risk factor that is not routinely treated but treatment can lead to improvement in visceral adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and mortality risk. Increasing the awareness of the association between obesity and COVID-19 risk in the general population and medical community may serve as the impetus to make obesity identification and management a higher priority.
KW - BMI
KW - COVID-19
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - obesity
KW - weight
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101933578&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101933578&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/2150132721996283
DO - 10.1177/2150132721996283
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 33648370
AN - SCOPUS:85101933578
SN - 2150-1319
VL - 12
JO - Journal of Primary Care and Community Health
JF - Journal of Primary Care and Community Health
ER -
