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The role of obesity in inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients.

Publication ,  Journal Article
McNeill, JN; Lau, ES; Paniagua, SM; Liu, EE; Wang, JK; Bassett, IV; Selvaggi, CA; Lubitz, SA; Foulkes, AS; Ho, JE
Published in: Obes Res Clin Pract
2021

Obesity has emerged as a significant risk factor for severe COVID-19 worldwide. Given both COVID-19 infection and obesity have been associated with increased systemic inflammation, we evaluated inflammatory markers in obese and non-obese individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 at Massachusetts General Hospital. We hypothesized that obese patients would have a more exuberant inflammatory response as evidenced by higher initial and peak inflammatory markers along with worse clinical outcomes. Of the 781 patients, 349 were obese (45%). Obese individuals had higher initial and peak levels of CRP and ESR as well as higher peak d-dimer (P < 0.01 for all) in comparison to non-obese individuals, while. IL-6 and ferritin were similar. In addition, obese individuals had a higher odds of requiring vasopressor use (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.00-2.38, P = 0.05), developing hypoxemic respiratory failure (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.04-2.40, P = 0.03) and death (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.31-3.70, P = 0.003) within 28 days of presentation to care. Finally, higher baseline levels of CRP and D-dimer were associated with worse clinical outcomes even after adjustment for BMI. Our findings suggest greater disease severity in obese individuals is characterized by more exuberant inflammation.

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Published In

Obes Res Clin Pract

DOI

EISSN

1871-403X

Publication Date

2021

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start / End Page

96 / 99

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Severity of Illness Index
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Risk Factors
  • Respiratory Insufficiency
  • Odds Ratio
  • Obesity
  • Middle Aged
  • Massachusetts
  • Male
  • Inflammation
 

Citation

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McNeill, J. N., Lau, E. S., Paniagua, S. M., Liu, E. E., Wang, J. K., Bassett, I. V., … Ho, J. E. (2021). The role of obesity in inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients. Obes Res Clin Pract, 15(1), 96–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2020.12.004
McNeill, Jenna N., Emily S. Lau, Samantha M. Paniagua, Elizabeth E. Liu, Jessica K. Wang, Ingrid V. Bassett, Caitlin A. Selvaggi, Steven A. Lubitz, Andrea S. Foulkes, and Jennifer E. Ho. “The role of obesity in inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients.Obes Res Clin Pract 15, no. 1 (2021): 96–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2020.12.004.
McNeill JN, Lau ES, Paniagua SM, Liu EE, Wang JK, Bassett IV, et al. The role of obesity in inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2021;15(1):96–9.
McNeill, Jenna N., et al. “The role of obesity in inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients.Obes Res Clin Pract, vol. 15, no. 1, 2021, pp. 96–99. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2020.12.004.
McNeill JN, Lau ES, Paniagua SM, Liu EE, Wang JK, Bassett IV, Selvaggi CA, Lubitz SA, Foulkes AS, Ho JE. The role of obesity in inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2021;15(1):96–99.
Journal cover image

Published In

Obes Res Clin Pract

DOI

EISSN

1871-403X

Publication Date

2021

Volume

15

Issue

1

Start / End Page

96 / 99

Location

Netherlands

Related Subject Headings

  • Severity of Illness Index
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Risk Factors
  • Respiratory Insufficiency
  • Odds Ratio
  • Obesity
  • Middle Aged
  • Massachusetts
  • Male
  • Inflammation