Impact of Obesity and Its Associated Comorbid Conditions on COVID-19 Presentation

Background: There is great variability in clinical presentation of COVID-19 worldwide The current study evaluated the impact of obesity and its related complications on the course of COVID-19 in Egyptian patients Methods: We included 230 COVID-19 Egyptian patients from Tanta City According to their body-mass index (BMI), patient were divided into three groups: normal weight (BMI 2), overweight (BMI >25-2), and obese (BMI >=30 kg/m2) Patients' glycemic status, lipid profile, and serum levels of acute-phase reactants were assessed The number of patients receiving intensive care and the number of deaths in each group were counted Results: Mean values of random blood sugar, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, serum ferritin, erythrocyte-sedimentation rate, LDH, CRP, D-dimer levels, and blood pressure were significantly higher in obese patients (165 6, 129 5, 105, 1,873, 26, 403, 56 45, 977 16 and 142/87, respectively) than in normal-weight (97 2, 103 5, 70 4, 479, 17 4, 252, 23 2, 612 4, and 118 6/76 8, respectively) and overweight patients (111 4, 106 3, 78 13, 491 3, 19 8, 269 27, 25 42, 618 4, and 120 3/79 3, respectively) Lymphopenia was also significantly predominant in the obese group Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that elevated serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density-lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, ferritin, CRP, and low relative lymphocyte count were significant risk factors in obese COVID-19 patients Conclusion: Obesity and its related complications increase the risk of presenting a more severe form of COVID-19 in Egyptian patients