Adiposity and Mortality Among ICU Patients with COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Respiratory Conditions

Obesity is associated with higher mortality among COVID-19 patients, but lower mortality among non-COVID-19 respiratory patients.

These associations appear vulnerable to confounding/selection bias in both patient groups, questioning the existence or stability of causal effects.

Compared with non-COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 patients were younger, less often of a white ethnic group, and more often with extreme obesity.

COVID-19 patients had fewer comorbidities but higher mortality.

Socio-demographic and comorbidity factors and their associations with BMI and mortality varied more by date than region of ICU admission.

Among COVID-19 patients, higher BMI was associated with excess mortality (hazard ratio (HR) per standard deviation (SD) = 1.05; 95% CI = 1.03-1.07).

CriticalCare.news