J Obes Metab Syndr.  2021 Jun;30(2):149-154. 10.7570/jomes20121.

Diabesity Associates with Poor COVID-19 Outcomes among Hospitalized Patients

• Nikniaz Z
• Somi MH
• Dinevari MF
• Taghizadieh A
• Mokhtari L

• KMID: 2517319
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7570/jomes20121

Abstract

Background
Although numerous studies have investigated obesity’s negative effect on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes, only a limited number focused on this association in diabetic patients. In this study, we analyzed the association between obesity and COVID-19 outcome (death, intensive care unit [ICU] admission, mechanical ventilation needs, quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [qSOFA] score, and confusion, urea, respiratory rate, blood pressure [CURB-65] scores) for hospitalized diabetic patients.
Methods
In this prospective hospital-based registry of patients with COVID-19 in East Azerbaijan, Iran, 368 consecutive diabetic patients with COVID-19 were followed from admission until discharge or death. Self-reported weight and height were used to calculate body mass index (kg/m 2 ) upon admission. Our primary endpoint was analyzing obesity and COVID-19 mortality association. Assessing the associations among obesity and disease severity, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation was our secondary endpoint.
Results
We analyzed data from 317 patients and found no significant difference between obese and nonobese patients regarding frequency of death, invasive mechanical ventilation, ICU admission, CURB-65, or qSOFA scores (P>0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, obese diabetic COVID-19 patients were 2.72 times more likely to die than non-obese patients. Moreover, ventilator dependence (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–4.76) and ICU admission (aOR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.11–5.68) odds were significantly higher for obese patients than non-obese patients.
Conclusion
The results of the present study indicated that obesity worsens health outcomes for diabetic COVID-19 patients.

Keyword

COVID-19; Death; Diabetes mellitus; Intensive care units; Obesity