1. Severe Obesity as an Independent Risk Factor for COVID-19 Mortality in Hospitalized Patients Younger than 50
- Author
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Matthew A. Levin, David Reich, Robert Freeman, Gassan Kassim, Eyal Klang, and Shelly Soffer
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,obesity ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Population ,Pneumonia, Viral ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,030209 endocrinology & metabolism ,Comorbidity ,Logistic regression ,SARS‐CoV‐2 ,03 medical and health sciences ,Betacoronavirus ,0302 clinical medicine ,Endocrinology ,Risk Factors ,COVID‐19 ,Internal medicine ,Odds Ratio ,Medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Risk factor ,education ,Pandemics ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Brief Cutting Edge Report ,education.field_of_study ,Nutrition and Dietetics ,business.industry ,SARS-CoV-2 ,COVID-19 ,Retrospective cohort study ,Odds ratio ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Obesity ,mortality ,Obesity, Morbid ,Hospitalization ,Logistic Models ,Brief Cutting Edge Reports ,Female ,business ,Coronavirus Infections - Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread, and younger patients are also being critically affected. This study analyzed obesity as an independent risk factor for mortality in hospitalized patients younger than 50. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed data of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized to a large academic hospital system in New York City between March 1, 2020, and May 17, 2020. Data included demographics, comorbidities, BMI, and smoking status. Obesity groups included the following: BMI of 30 to < 40 kg/m2 and BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 . Multivariable logistic regression models identified variables independently associated with mortality in patients younger and older than 50. RESULTS: Overall, 3,406 patients were included; 572 (17.0%) patients were younger than 50. In the younger age group, 60 (10.5%) patients died. In the older age group, 1,076 (38.0%) patients died. For the younger population, BMI ≥ 40 was independently associated with mortality (adjusted odds ratio 5.1; 95% CI: 2.3-11.1). For the older population, BMI ≥ 40 was also independently associated with mortality to a lesser extent (adjusted odds ratio 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.3). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that hospitalized patients younger than 50 with severe obesity are more likely to die of COVID-19. This is particularly relevant in the Western world, where obesity rates are high.
- Published
- 2020