Homeostasis Disrupted and Restored-A Fresh Look at the Mechanism and Treatment of Obesity During COVID-19.

The prevalence of obesity in the United States approaches half of the adult population. The COVID-19 pandemic endangers the health of obese individuals. In addition, the metabolic syndrome poses a challenge to the health of obese adults. Bariatric surgery and diet restore metabolic homeostasis in obese individuals; however, it is still unclear which strategy is most effective. For example, intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity and diet alone decreases visceral adipose tissue at a disproportionately high rate compared to weight loss. Bariatric surgery causes rapid remission of type 2 diabetes and increases incretins for long-term remission of insulin resistance before meaningful weight loss has occurred. Malabsorptive surgeries have provided insight into the mechanism of altering metabolic parameters, but strong evidence to determine the duration of their effects is yet to be established. When determining the best method of weight loss, metabolic parameters, target weight loss, and risk-benefit analysis must be considered carefully. In this review, we address the pros and cons for the optimal way to restore metabolic homeostasis.

Geographical Differences in Cardiovascular Comorbidities and Outcomes of COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients in the USA.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular comorbidities may predispose to adverse outcomes in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, across the USA, the burden of cardiovascular comorbidities varies significantly. Whether clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 differ between regions has not yet been studied systematically. Here, we report differences in underlying cardiovascular comorbidities and clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas and in New York state. METHODS: We established a multicenter retrospective registry including patients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 15 and July 12, 2020. Demographic and clinical data were manually retrieved from electronic medical records. We focused on the following outcomes: mortality, need for pharmacologic circulatory support, need for mechanical ventilation, and need for hemodialysis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Patients in the Texas cohort (n = 296) were younger (57 vs. 63 years, p value <0.001), they had a higher BMI (30.3 kg/m2 vs. 28.5 kg/m2, p = 0.015), and they had higher rates of diabetes mellitus (41 vs. 30%; p = 0.014). In contrast, patients in the New York state cohort (n = 218) had higher rates of coronary artery disease (19 vs. 10%, p = 0.005) and atrial fibrillation (11 vs. 5%, p = 0.012). Pharmacologic circulatory support, mechanical ventilation, and hemodialysis were more frequent in the Texas cohort (21 vs. 13%, p = 0.020; 30 vs. 12%, p < 0.001; and 11 vs. 5%, p = 0.009, respectively). In-hospital mortality was similar between the 2 cohorts (16 vs. 18%, p = 0.469). After adjusting for differences in underlying comorbidities, only the use of mechanical ventilation remained significantly higher in the participating Texas hospitals (odds ratios [95% CI]: 3.88 [1.23, 12.24]). Median time to pharmacologic circulatory support was 8 days (interquartile range: 2, 13.8) in the Texas cohort compared to 1 day (0, 3) in the New York state cohort, while median time to in-hospital mortality was 16 days (10, 25.5) and 7 days (4, 14), respectively (both p < 0.001). In-hospital mortality was higher in the late versus the early study phase in the New York state cohort (24 vs. 14%, p = 0.050), while it was similar between the 2 phases in the Texas cohort (16 vs. 15%, p = 0.741). CONCLUSIONS: Geographical differences, including practice pattern variations and the impact of disease burden on provision of health care, are important for the evaluation of COVID-19 outcomes. Unadjusted data may cause bias affecting future regulatory policies and proper allocation of resources.