We already know that being obese increases the risk of hospitalization and death in the event of contamination by SARS-CoV-2. We also know that certain ethnic origins also increase the risk of a severe form of Covid-19 disease. What about people who combine these risk factors? A study looked into the question by analyzing data from 12.6 million English people.
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L’obesity is a well-known risk factor for severe forms of the disease Covid-19. L’BMI (Body Mass Index) is directly linked to the risk of dying from Covid-19. Obesity promotes a pro-inflammatory state of the body. During an infection with SARS-CoV-2, these patients are more exposed to the famous “ cytokine storm “. Less publicized but also very well documented, the patient’s ethnic origin is also a risk factor for severe Covid-19. In fact, the risk is multiplied by four in people of color black or from South Asia. What happens in obese and black people? If the risk factors seem to add up according to the data available in the literature, the authors of a study published on February 2 in the prestigious journal Nature wished to investigate the question more precisely.
The risk factors accumulate in the event of overweight
The researchers analyzed the association between patients’ BMI and mortality linked to Covid-19 infection in different ethnic groups. The study was carried out using English data, dating from the year 2020 (from January to December). The breakdown of ethnic groups was as follows:
- 11,074,708 white people;
- 416,542 black people;
- 621,691 people from South Asia;
- 478,196 people from minority ethnic groups.
Without surprise, BMI was associated with the risk of dying from Covid-19 in each ethnic subgroup. On the other hand, the risk was more accentuated among populations of people of color, from South Asian origin or from minority ethnic groups compared to white people.
Ethnic risk is reduced in the absence of overweight
Interestingly, among non-obese people, there was no greater risk of dying from Covid-19 among populations of people of color or from minority ethnic groups compared to white people.
On the other hand, people from South Asia had an increased risk of dying from Covid-19 compared to white people even in the absence of overweight. Similar observations were made with the risk of hospitalization linked to Covid-19. While these findings were similar in women and men, the associations were even stronger in people over the age of 70. In conclusion, these data encourage particular monitoring of patients with multiple risk factors.
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