Obesity and COVID-19: an Italian snapshot.

OBJECTIVE: The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 run from asymptomatic disease to severe acute respiratory syndrome. Older age and comorbidities are associated to more severe disease. A role of obesity is suspected. METHODS: We enrolled patients hospitalized in the medical COVID-19 ward with SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia. Primary outcome of the study was to assess the relationship between the severity of COVID-19 and obesity classes according to BMI. RESULTS: 92 patients (61.9% males; age 70.5�13.3 years) were enrolled. Patients with overweight and obesity were younger than normal-weight patients (68.0�12.6 and 67.0�12.6 years vs. 76.1�13.0 years, p<0.01). A higher need for assisted ventilation beyond pure oxygen support (Invasive Mechanical Ventilation or Non-Invasive Ventilation) and a higher admission to intensive or semi-intensive care units was observed in patients with overweight and obesity (p<0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively) even after adjusting for sex, age and comorbidities (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively), or when patients with dementia or advanced cancer were removed from the analysis (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with overweight and obesity admitted in a medical ward for SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia, despite their younger age, required more frequently assisted ventilation and access to intensive or semi-intensive care units than normal weight patients.