Given the reports inscribing obesity as a risk factor for severe COVID‐19 caused by the SARS‐CoV2 virus, researchers here examined if obesity is a risk factor for mortality among COVID‐19 patients. This retrospective cohort study examined if obesity is a risk factor for mortality among COVID‐19 patients.
The authors analyzed data from all SARS-CoV2 positive patients admitted to the University of Chicago Medical Center between March 1 and April 18, 2020.
Among the 238 patients with COVID‐19 that were included in the study, 218 patients (91.6%) were African American, 113 (47.5%) were male, and the mean age was 58.5 years; 146 (61.3%) were obese (BMI > 30kg/m2), with 63 (26.5%), 29 (12.2%), and 54 (22.7%) with class 1, 2, and 3 obesity, respectively.
In adjusted analyses, obesity, male gender, and older age were significantly associated with increased mortality. Their model noted a 70% increased odds of mortality for every increase in BMI category, after adjustment for other factors.
