Kaitlyn D’Onofrio

DocwireNews

Patients with influenza or similar illnesses who are overweight or underweight are more likely to be hospitalized for their illness, a new study has found.&nbsp;The observational cohort study included data on 4,778 hospitalized and outpatient participants, of&nbsp;whom&nbsp;2,053 (43.0%) patients had severe&nbsp;influenza-like illness&nbsp;(ILI); 778 (16.3%) had influenza, 2,636 (55.2%) tested positive for other viral respiratory pathogens, and 1,364 (28.5%) did not test positive for any isolated respiratory virus.&nbsp;When compared with normal-weight adults, influenza patients&nbsp;had a greater risk of hospitalization if they&nbsp;were underweight (odds ratio [OR]: 5.20), obese (OR: 3.18), or morbidly obese (OR: 18.40). Obese adults were also significantly more likely than those of a normal weight to be hospitalized if they had H1N1 as opposed to H3N2 and B&nbsp;(obese OR: 8.96 vs 1.35, morbidly obese OR: 35.13 vs 5.58, respectively). Underweight and morbidly obese adults with&nbsp;coronavirus, metapneumovirus, parainfluenza, and rhinovirus&nbsp;also had a greater chance of hospitalization (underweight OR 4.07, morbidly obese OR: 2.78). ILI of any cause was at least somewhat more likely to lead to hospitalization for underweight and morbidly obese patients than normal-weight patients.&nbsp;&ldquo;The risk follows a&nbsp;&lsquo;U&rsquo;&#8208;shaped curve, where individuals at both extremes (ie, those that are underweight or morbidly obese) were more likely to develop severe ILI when compared with normal&#8208;weight, overweight, or obese individuals,&rdquo; the researchers wrote.&nbsp;&ldquo;The increased risk of underweight and morbidly obese adults was stronger for influenza&#8208;positive adults compared with those positive for other respiratory viruses or negative for any respiratory viruses.&rdquo;&nbsp;One of the study&rsquo;s limitations is that it only included patients who sought medical attention for their symptoms. It&nbsp;also&nbsp;did not prove a causal relationship between body mass and risk of infection.&nbsp;The study authors concluded that &ldquo;our findings suggest that adults, who are underweight or morbidly obese, even if they do not have chronic conditions that increase the risk of influenza&#8208;related complications, may be at increased risk of developing severe disease due to seasonal influenza infection as well as other respiratory viral infections. Clinicians should keep a patient&rsquo;s body mass index in mind when evaluating risk and deciding on a course of treatment.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/general/obesity-affect-influenza/">How does Obesity Affect Influenza Risks?</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/fda-approves-baloxavir-marboxil/">FDA Approves First Flu Antiviral in Almost Two Decades</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/high-dose-flu-shot-ra-patients/">High Dose Flu Shot More Effective in RA Patients</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/recommend-flu-shot-everyone/">AAP, CDC Recommend Flu Shot for Everyone Aged Six Months and Older</a>&nbsp;Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irv.12618">Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses&nbsp;</a>

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Flu-related Hospitalization Risk Increases Based on Weight

Infectious Disease

Patients with influenza or similar illnesses who are overweight or underweight are more likely to be hospitalized for their illness, a new study has found.  ...

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