According to Science Daily, a new study shows that “a higher BMI may be linked to higher survival rates in patients hospitalized for severe bacterial infections.” Scientists from Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, and Skaraborg Hospital in Skövde, observed 2,196 adult patients receiving care for severe bacterial infections during and after their hospital stays for a 9 month period.
Study results indicated that a higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with a higher chance of survival at 28 days and 1 year after hospitalization. Scientists found that 26 percent of patients with a normal BMI “were dead within a year” compared to 9-17 percent of patients with a higher BMI. These findings help to confirm the “obesity survival paradox” where being overweight and obese may help defend against serious bacterial infections. Åsa Alsiö, the study’s first and corresponding author and senior consultant in infectious diseases at Skövde, said “in the context of most other diseases, overweight and obesity are disadvantageous” and “paradoxically, it’s the other way round here.”
Gunnar Jacobsson, senior study author and senior consultant in infectious diseases at Skövde, related their findings to the COVID-19 pandemic where “overweight people have been hit hard.” He believes that more experience with patients suffering from serious bacterial infections could help to improve outcomes for COVID-19 and overweight patients. Jacobbson stated that “more knowledge is needed to shed light on how body weight affects the body’s defenses against infection, so that treatment can be individualized.”
With obesity increasing at alarming rates, Alsiö and the team of researchers conclude that population level studies are needed to see how BMI influences outcomes for patients with infectious diseases and to determine what connections exist that regulate the immune system.
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