The obesity paradox: Analysis from the SMAtteo COvid-19 REgistry (SMACORE) cohort

Summary Background and aims Obesity has been suggested as a possible risk factor for a more severe course of COVID-19; however, conclusive evidence is lacking and few studies have investigated the role of BMI as a risk factor for admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and mortality. We retrospectively analysed a COVID-19 cohort recruited during the first 40 days of the epidemic in Italy. We examined the association between obesity and 30-day mortality, admission to ICU, mortality and length of hospital stay in patients with COVID-19. Methods and results Demographic, clinical and outcome data were retrospectively analyzed in 331 patients with COVID-19 admitted to hospital between 21 February…