The association between obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension with severe COVID‐19 on admission among Mexicans

Denova‐Gutiérrez, Edgar; Lopez‐Gatell, Hugo; Alomia‐Zegarra, Jose L.; López‐Ridaura, Ruy; Zaragoza‐Jimenez, Christian A.; Dyer‐Leal, Dwigth D.; Cortés‐Alcala, Ricardo; Villa‐Reyes, Tania; Gutiérrez‐Vargas, Rosaura; Rodríguez‐González, Kathia; Escondrillas‐Maya, Carlos; Barrientos‐Gutiérrez, Tonatiuh; Rivera, Juan A.; Barquera, Simón

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and severe COVID‐19 on admission. METHODS: In the present study, a total of 23,593 patient samples were evaluated by a laboratory from the Mexican Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE, for its acronym in Spanish). Of these: 18,443 were negative for COVID‐19, 3,844 were positive for COVID‐19, and 1,306 were positive for other respiratory viruses. Severe types of respiratory disease were defined by the presence of pneumonia and other organ failure that requires intensive care. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to explore factors associated with severe COVID‐19 on admission. RESULTS: Patients who tested positive for COVID‐19 had a higher proportion of obesity (17.4%), diabetes (14.5%), and hypertension (18.9%), compared to those without a confirmed diagnosis. Compared to non‐obese patients, those with obesity showed a 1.43‐fold higher odds of developing severe COVID‐19 on admission, while subjects with diabetes and hypertension showed a 1.87‐fold and 1.77‐fold higher odds of developing severe COVID‐19 on admission, respectively. CONCLUSION: Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension were significantly associated with severe COVID‐19 on admission and the association of obesity was stronger in patients < 50 y.