Impact of Bmi on Mortality, Mechanical Ventilation, and Length of Stay in Covid-19 Patients

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Weight-related health problems typically arise in those with a BMI higher than 30. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of BMI on COVID-19 outcomes. METHOD(S) Retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients in our hospital with COVID-19 from March 2020 to February 2022. Admission BMI was categorized into six classifications underweight (< 18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m2), obese class 1 (30-34.9 kg/m2), obese class 2 (35-39.9 kg/m2), and obese class 3 (>40 kg/m2). Primary outcomes were mortality, days hospitalized, and need for mechanical ventilation. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed. RESULT(S) 986 individuals were included with a median age of 56 years [45-67]. Overall median BMI was 29.3 kg/m2 [27- 34.5 kg/m2]. 554 (56.2%) patients were males. Median BMI for females was 30.3 kg/m2 [26.4-35.4 kg/m2], and for males was 29.1 kg/m2 [25.8-33.9 kg/m2]). A total of 799 (81%) survived. Survival in underweight patients was 13 (86.7%), normal weight was 143 (81.7%), overweight was 267 (79%), obese class 1 was 191 (84.1%), obese class 2 was 98 (79%), and obese class 3 was 87 (81.3%), (chi2 (5) = 3.032, p = .695). When assessing need of mechanical ventilation, 159 (16.1%) of all patients needed ventilation. In each category 3 (20%) underweight patients, 24 (13.7%) normal weight patients, 61 (18%) overweight patients, 33 (14.5%) obese class 1 patients, 22 (17.7%) obese class 2 patients, and 16 (15%) obese class 3 patients required ventilation (chi2 (5) = 2.613, p = .759). Analyzing days hospitalized, length of stay in each category was underweight - 6 [5-12] days, normal weight - 7 [3-12] days, overweight - 6.5 [4-12] days, obese class 1 - 7 [4-12] days, obese class 2 - 7.5 [4-14] days, and obese class 3 - 7 [5-12] days (H (5) = 3.093, p =.686). CONCLUSION(S) In this cohort, BMI is not associated with higher mortality rates, longer hospitalization time, or need of mechanical ventilation among patients with COVID-19.