Visceral fat shows the strongest association with the need of intensive care in patients with COVID-19.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Obesity was recently identified as a major risk factor for worse COVID-19 severity, especially among the young. The reason why its impact seems to be less pronounced in the elderly may be due to the concomitant presence of other comorbidities. However, all reports only focus on BMI, an indirect marker of body fat.

Aim

To explore the impact on COVID-19 severity of abdominal fat as a marker of body composition easily collected in patients undergoing a chest CT scan.

Methods

Patients included in this retrospective study were consecutively enrolled among those admitted to an Emergency Department in Rome, Italy, who tested positive for SARS-Cov-2 and underwent a chest CT scan in March 2020. Data were extracted from electronic medical records.

Results

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SUBMITTER: Watanabe M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7377788 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature