The data came from the Swedish Military Duty Conscription Register, which comprised 1,551,670 males born between 1950 and 1987 who were conscripted for military service between 1969 and 2005. Their height and weight were assessed at the start.
According to a new study done by the University of Gothenburg, males in their upper teens who have a high body mass index (BMI) have a higher risk of severe Covid-19, which can lead to hospitalisation later in life.
According to a new study done by the University of Gothenburg, males in their upper teens who have a high body mass index (BMI) have a higher risk of severe Covid-19, which can lead to hospitalisation later in life.
The research was published in the ‘Obesity’ publication.
The data came from the Swedish Military Duty Conscription Register, which comprised 1,551,670 males born between 1950 and 1987 who were conscripted for military service between 1969 and 2005. Their height and weight were assessed at the start.
When the conscription data was combined with data from three Swedish medical databases — the National Patient Register, the Intensive Care Register, and the Cause of Death Register — a clear link was discovered between BMI in adolescence and the risk of developing Covid-19, which required hospitalisation many years later. The association between having a BMI in the upper teens and needing intensive treatment for the condition was more obvious.
The males were put into six groups for the study, ranging from underweight (BMI 15-18.5) through three levels of normal weight (18.5-20, 20-22.5, and 22.5-25), then overweight (25-30) and obesity (BMI of 30 or more). During the research year (2020), 4,315 men with Covid-19 required hospitalisation; 729 of them required acute care, and 224 died as a result of the disease.
Even males who were in the 22.5-25 BMI range in adolescence — that is, within the normal weight range — had an increased risk of COVID-19-related hospitalisation. From the period of conscription 15 to 50 years ago, the demand grew in lockstep with growing BMI findings.
“We can demonstrate that being overweight in late adolescence increases the probability of hospitalisation and intensive care for Covid-19 at the population level. Those with a BMI of 18.5-20 are more than twice as likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit as those with a BMI of 18.5-20 “Josefina Robertson expressed her thoughts.The study’s first author is a researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, and a doctor specialised in infectious illnesses at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
Maria Aberg, a physician specialised in general medicine at the regional health, part of Region Vastra Gotaland, and the study’s last author, is an associate professor at Sahlgrenska Academy’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine.”Several studies have identified overweight as a risk factor for becoming severely ill with Covid-19, and we’re now showing that overweight and obesity even in early life plays a part,” Aberg said.
Obesity has long been associated to an increased risk of becoming very ill from several infectious illnesses, such as influenza. Obesity weakens the immune system and increases a person’s proclivity for inflammation, both of which can lead to more serious illnesses.
The early BMI levels were observed to accompany the males up to middle age in the current investigation. The Health Profile Institute (HPI) produced health tests known as health-profile evaluations for 151,693 of the participants, which show this.
“It’s interesting to see that the men’s BMI in adolescence is a risk factor for severe Covid-19 many years later. A high BMI in the men’s teens also persisted into middle age, which is a trend that other studies have shown as well. That’s why it’s important to take preventive measures against obesity even at a young age, especially ahead of future viral pandemics,” Josefina Robertson quoted.
