Obese people at higher risk of contracting coronavirus, suggests a study

The study carried out by researchers of the Queen Mary University, London suggested that high BMI and cholesterol are risk factors to COVID-19.

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London: The effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the risk of COVID-19 infection have been investigated through a novel approach by researchers at the Queen Mary University of London. Several observational studies have reported the link between cardiovascular risk factors and COVID-19 severity. However, these studies could not ascertain the cause and effect relationship due to the observational design.

The new study, published in the science journal Frontiers in Genetics, used a novel approach called `Mendelian Randomisation`, which leveraged the individual genetic information, to investigate the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the risk of COVID-19 infection. Lead author Dr Nay Aung from the Queen Mary University of London said: "Our results show that individuals with high body mass index (BMI), a marker of obesity, and high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (also known as `bad` cholesterol) are at an increased risk of getting COVID-19.

Other cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure and diabetes) do not appear to elevate the COVID-19 risk."Our findings support the use of BMI and LDL cholesterol as important metrics alongside other known characteristics (such as age and ethnicity) in the risk assessment of vulnerability to COVID-19 infection," added Aung. The findings may have an impact on public health policy, whereby those who fall in the at-risk obese category or those with extreme hyperlipidemia in the general population may require more rigorous social distancing or shielding.

Furthermore, studies assessing the role of cholesterol modification therapy during illness or hospital admission could be undertaken to assess the potential impact on outcomes.