A large retrospective study just published in JAMA Open Network suggests that elevated body mass index (BMI) in both children and young adults was associated with an increased risk of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or long COVID. This study is part of the National Institutes of Health Researching COVID-19. Twenty-six institutions contributed to the data, including data from both hospitals and primary care or outpatient settings.
Those with obesity had a 25.4% increased risk of long COVID (relative risk [RR] 1.25, 95% CI 1.06-1.48) and those with severe obesity had a 42.1% increased risk (RR 1.42, 95% CI 1.25-1.61) compared with children and young adults who had healthy weight, reported Yong Chen, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues.
Similarly, there was an increased likelihood of encountering any manifestation of potential long COVID symptoms and conditions among those with obesity (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06-1.15) and severe obesity (RR 1.17, 95% CI 1.14-1.21). You can read the full paper:
This is relevant to patients with chronic wounds since a huge majority of patients with chronic wounds are obese or morbidly obese. There are no good treatments for long Covid, although there is some evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) might be beneficial. To be clear, HBOT was not part of the JAMA article! However, you can find more information about long COVID in previous blog posts:
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has Released a Consensus Definition of Long COVID – Caroline Fife M.D.
- A Practical Approach to HBOT for Long COVID – Caroline Fife M.D.
- Helping Patients with Long COVID using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) – Caroline Fife M.D.
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Improves Neurocognitive Functions and Symptoms of Post-COVID Condition – the Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial – Caroline Fife M.D.
Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog at CarolineFifeMD.com and my Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/carolinefifemd/videos
The opinions, comments, and content expressed or implied in my statements are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the position or views of Intellicure or any of the boards on which I serve.
