Obesity And Covid-19: A Descriptive Review

Abstract

Introduction: According to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), 5,941,223 confirmed cases and 366,601 deaths had already been reported by May 31, 2020. Higher rates of infection, hospitalization, submission to the Intensive Care Units, and fatalities were attributed to obese patients. Objective: To gather the available data on obesity and SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study specifically covers combined pathophysiology and prognosis and will be updated until September 2020. Methods: This is a literature review study with a narrative-descriptive approach. The search was carried out in September 2020, with the totality of articles from that same year, when the pandemic of the new coronavirus was declared by the World Health Organization. Results: The search on the data platform resulted in 121 articles, of which 86 were classified as reviews and 35, systematic reviews, totaling 18 reviews and 7 systematic reviews at the end, with a total value of 16 articles with sufficient quality. Obesity is associated with increased severity of COVID-19 in the infected individual with this disease, due to the chronic inflammatory process, with high levels of pro-inflammatory leptin and a lower concentration of anti-inflammatory adiponectin, which causes a response delayed and inferior immune system. Conclusion: Individuals with this association have an easier time in the formation of possible clots, due to chronic inflammation and impaired fibrinolysis, which qualifies them as individuals of significant thrombogenic risk. Thus, individuals with obesity are an important risk group when considering its association with the disease of the new coronavirus.