New research suggested that obese people hospitalized with Covid-19 have a substantially higher rate of ICU admissions and longer duration of ICU, compared to people with normal Body Mass Index (BMI).

The study, presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, examined 3,268 adult Covid-19 hospitalized patients at five hospitals within the Yale-New Haven Health System between March and November 2020.

Obesity impact

"The association between obesity and a more severe clinical course of Covid-19 highlights the vulnerability of this population during the current pandemic and the need for public health efforts to prevent and treat obesity, in the current pandemic and beyond," said lead researcher Yu Mi Kang, M.D., Ph.D., of Yale New Haven Health in New Haven, Conn.

The researchers intended to determine and describe the impact of obesity on the clinical course of Covid-19, compared with individuals who have normal BMI.

Among hospitalized patients, 43 per cent had obesity, 15.8 per cent died, and 24.2 per cent required ICU-level care.

The findings revealed that obese patients were 26 per cent more likely to need ICU care overall than patients who did not have obesity. While Covied-19 patients with higher body-mass index (BMI) measurements were even more likely to require ICU care.

Individuals with severe obesity, or a BMI of 40 or higher, were twice as likely to need ICU care compared with patients with a normal BMI.

However, the findings did not indicate an elevated risk of death in people with obesity compared to those with normal BMI.

"Our work underscores the impact of obesity on the course of Covid-19 and emphasizes the need to ensure that obesity is given appropriate consideration for risk stratification, vaccination protocols, and in-hospital Covid-19 management," Kang said.

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