The Effects of Obesity and Metabolic Abnormalities on Severe COVID-19-related Outcomes after Vaccination: A Population-Based Study. Fan et al.

Therefore, it is crucial to identify the modifiable risk factors that may affect the protective efficacy of vaccine use against the development of severe COVID-19 and thus to initiate early medical interventions. Here, in population-based studies using the UK Biobank database and the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we analyzed 20,362 participants aged 50 years or older and 2,588 aged 18 years or older from both databases who tested positive for SARS-COV-2, of whom 33.1% and 67.7% received one or more doses of vaccine, respectively.

In the UK Biobank, participants are followed from the vaccination date until Oct. 18, 2021. We found that obesity and metabolic abnormalities (namely, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension) were modifiable factors for severe COVID-19 in vaccinated patients (All P < .05). When metabolic abnormalities were present, regardless of obesity, the risk of severe COVID-19 was higher than that of metabolically normal individuals (All P < .05).