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High prevalence of obesity in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation
Arthur Simonnet , Mikael Chetboun, Julien Poissy, Violeta Raverdy, Jerome Noulette, Alain Duhamel, Julien Labreuche, Daniel Mathieu, Francois Pattou
First published:09 April 2020
https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22831
This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi:10.1002/oby.22831
Abstract
Objective
The Covid-19 pandemic is rapidly spreading worldwide, notably in Europe and North America, where obesity is highly prevalent. The relation between obesity and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has not been fully documented.
Methods
In this retrospective cohort study we analyzed the relationship between clinical characteristics, including body mass index (BMI), and the requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in 124 consecutive patients admitted in intensive care for SARS-CoV-2, in a single French center.
Results
Obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) and severe obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m2) were present in 47.6% and 28.2% of cases, respectively. Overall, 85 patients (68.6%) required IMV. The proportion of patients who required IMV increased with BMI categories (p < 0.01, Chi square test for trend), and it was greatest in patients with BMI > 35 kg/m2 (85.7%). In multivariate logistic regression, the need for IMV was significantly associated with male sex (p < 0.05) and BMI (p < 0.05), independent of age, diabetes, and hypertension. The odds ratio for IMV in patients with BMI > 35 kg/m2 vs patients with BMI < 25 kg/m2 was 7.36 (1.63-33.14; p=0.02)
Conclusion
The present study showed a high frequency of obesity among patients admitted in intensive care for SARS-CoV-2. Disease severity increased with BMI. Obesity is a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 severity requiring increased attention to preventive measures in susceptible individuals.