The association of metabolic syndrome and COVID-19 deterioration

Ouedraogo, Elise; Allard, Lucie; Bihan, Hélène; Goupil de Bouille, Jeanne; Giroux-Leprieur, Bénédicte; Sutton, Angela; Baudry, Camille; Josse, Constant; Didier, Morgane; Deutsch, David; Rezgani, Imen; Bouchaud, Olivier; Cosson, Emmanuel

Background and aims To evaluate the prevalence and prognostic value of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients admitted for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods and results In this monocentric cohort retrospective study, we consecutively included all adult patients admitted to COVID 19 units between April 9 and May 29, 2020, and between February 1 and March 26, 2021. MetS was defined when at least three of the following components were met: android obesity, high HbA1c, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-cholesterol. COVID-19 deterioration was defined as the need for nasal oxygen flow ≥ 6 l/min within 28 days after admission. We included 155 patients (55.5% men, mean age 61.7 years old, mean body mass index 29.8 kg/m2). Fifty-six patients (36.1%) had COVID-19 deterioration. MetS was present in 126 patients (81.3%) and was associated with COVID-19 deterioration (no MetS vs MetS: 13.7% and 41.2%, respectively, p<0.01). Logistic regression taking into account MetS, age, gender, ethnicity, period of inclusion and Charlson Index showed that COVID-19 deterioration was 5.3 times more likely in MetS patients (95% confidence interval 1.3-20.2) than non-MetS patients. Conclusions Over 81.3% of patients hospitalized in COVID-19 units had MetS. This syndrome appears to be an independent risk factor of COVID-19 deterioration.