Ranil Jayawardena1, Dhanushya T Jeyakumar2, Anoop Misra3, Andrew P Hills4, Priyanga Ranasinghe5. 1. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka; School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: ranil@physiol.cmb.ac.lk. 2. Health and Wellness Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 3. Fortis-C-DOC Centre of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and Endocrinology, Chirag Enclave, New Delhi, India. 4. School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Tasmania, Newnham Drive, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia; Mater Research Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 5. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: COVID-19 is an ongoing global pandemic, affecting nearly 35 million people from 214 countries as at September 30, 2020 and emerging evidence suggests that obesity is a potential risk factor for communicable diseases, including viral infections. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between obesity prevalence of the total adult population and COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, in different countries. METHODS: A total of 54 countries from six continents were selected. Country-specific obesity prevalence data were retrieved from the latest non-communicable diseases profiles released by the Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health Cluster of World Health Organization, while the real time statistics from the Worldometer website were used to extract data on COVID-19 infections and mortality per million of the total population as of September 30, 2020. RESULTS: Obesity prevalence data ranged from 2.0% (Vietnam) to 35.0% (Saudi Arabia). Among the selected countries, the highest number of COVID-19 cases per million was documented in Qatar (n = 44,789) while the lowest was reported from Vietnam (n = 11). Highest mortality per million population due to COVID-19 infections occurred in Peru (n = 981), in contrast with the smallest number reported in Mongolia (n = 0). A significant positive correlation (r = 0.46; p < 0.001) was observed between the total number of COVID-19 infections and the prevalence of obesity. COVID-19 mortality was also significantly correlated (r = 0.34; p < 0.05) with the prevalence of obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity prevalence in each country was significantly associated with both infection and mortality rate of COVID-19.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: COVID-19 is an ongoing global pandemic, affecting nearly 35 million people from 214 countries as at September 30, 2020 and emerging evidence suggests that obesity is a potential risk factor for communicable diseases, including viral infections. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between obesity prevalence of the total adult population and COVID-19infection and mortality rates, in different countries. METHODS: A total of 54 countries from six continents were selected. Country-specific obesity prevalence data were retrieved from the latest non-communicable diseases profiles released by the Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health Cluster of World Health Organization, while the real time statistics from the Worldometer website were used to extract data on COVID-19infections and mortality per million of the total population as of September 30, 2020. RESULTS:Obesity prevalence data ranged from 2.0% (Vietnam) to 35.0% (Saudi Arabia). Among the selected countries, the highest number of COVID-19 cases per million was documented in Qatar (n = 44,789) while the lowest was reported from Vietnam (n = 11). Highest mortality per million population due to COVID-19infections occurred in Peru (n = 981), in contrast with the smallest number reported in Mongolia (n = 0). A significant positive correlation (r = 0.46; p < 0.001) was observed between the total number of COVID-19infections and the prevalence of obesity. COVID-19mortality was also significantly correlated (r = 0.34; p < 0.05) with the prevalence of obesity. CONCLUSIONS:Obesity prevalence in each country was significantly associated with both infection and mortality rate of COVID-19.
Authors: Hashim A Mahdi; Harunor Rashid; Fadi S Qashqari; Sumyya H Hariri; Osama A Marglani; Osamah Barasheed; Aqel Albutti; Ameen S Alwashmi; Ramon Z Shaban; Robert Booy; Mohammad Alfelali Journal: BMC Infect Dis Date: 2022-06-27 Impact factor: 3.667
Authors: Nicole Philippens; Ester Janssen; Sacha Verjans-Janssen; Stef Kremers; Rik Crutzen Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-11-12 Impact factor: 3.390