Obesity predisposes to the risk of higher mortality in young COVID‐19 patients. Issue 11 (19th June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Fengqin; Xiong, Ying; Wei, Yanqiu; Hu, Yi; Wang, Feng; Li, Gang; Liu, Kui; Du, Ronghui; Wang, Cong‐Yi; Zhu, Wenzhen
• Other Names: Luo Guangxiang (George) guestEditor.; Ly Hinh guestEditor.; Gao Shou‐Jiang guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Journal of medical virology. Volume 92:Issue 11(2020)
• Page Start: 2536
• Page End: 2542
• Publication Date: 2020-06-19
• Subjects: cardiac damage -- coagulation activity -- COVID‐19 -- inflammatory responses -- obesity; Virology -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.26039
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-6615

Abstract

Abstract: Although emerging data demonstrated mortality of young COVID‐19 patients, no data have reported the risk factors of mortality for these young patients, and whether obesity is a risk for young COVID‐19 patients remains unknown. We conducted a retrospective study including 13 young patients who died of COVID‐19 and 40 matched survivors. Logistic regression was employed to characterize the risk factors of mortality in young obese COVID‐19 patients. Most of the young deceased COVID‐19 patients were mild cases at the time of admission, but the disease progressed rapidly featured by a higher severity of patchy shadows (100.00% vs 48.70%; P = .006), pleural thickening (61.50% vs 12.80%; P = .012), and mild pericardial effusion (76.90% vs 0.00%; P < .001). Most importantly, the deceased patients manifested higher body mass index (odds ratio [OR] = 1.354; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.075‐1.704; P = .010), inflammation‐related index C‐reactive protein (OR = 1.014; 95% CI = 1.003‐1.025; P = .014), cardiac injury biomarker hs‐cTnI (OR = 1.420; 95% CI = 1.112‐1.814; P = .005), and increased coagulation activity biomarker D‐dimer (OR = 418.7; P = .047), as compared with that of survivors. Our data support that obesity could be a risk factor associated with high mortality in young COVID‐19 patients, whereas aggravated inflammatory response, enhanced cardiac injury, and increased coagulation activity are likely to be the mechanisms contributing to the high mortality.