Introduction:

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) encompasses a wide spectrum of symptoms, including respiratory, gastrointestinal, hematological, and dermatological manifestations. The virus interaction with cells located in the respiratory tract causes the release of inflammatory mediators, whose involvement could be exacerbated by co-existing obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular events.

Objectives:

the objective of this research was to analyze the clinically metabolic status in patients who have suffered COVID-19 disease in order to predict the outcome.

Methods:

this research is a retrospective study based on a cohort of 165 consecutively admitted patients with criteria for COVID-19 pneumonia according to WHO guidelines at the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro between March and April 2020. Recorded variables included demographic and epidemiological data plus diagnoses as well as morbid complications during hospitalization. The Biochemistry Unit Laboratory carried out laboratory analyses according to validated operational procedures. The statistical tests included univariate and multivariate models adjusted for baseline characteristics and clinically relevant features.

Results:

the most frequent comorbidity in our cohort was arterial hypertension (44.0 %), followed by dyslipidemia (32.1 %), obesity (30.9 %), and diabetes mellitus (20.0 %). The association between admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) with body mass index (BMI) in a multivariate model was statistically significant, evidencing that obese subjects (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) have a 19 % higher risk of requiring ICU care. The univariate model revealed a statistically significant association between obesity and ICU admission and length of hospital stay (p < 0.05). The relationship between baseline blood glucose and in-hospital mortality was also statistically significant (p = 0.03), as well as with total cholesterol and ICU admission (p = 0.007).

Conclusions:

obesity is related to a longer time of hospitalization and a higher rate of admissions to the ICU. Low total cholesterol levels and abnormal baseline blood glucose were risk factors for ICU requirement and in-hospital mortality. Patient categorization based on obesity could be valuable in the development of a precision medicine model within the COVID-19 pandemic.

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