Impact of BMI on Covid-19 Clinical Features and its Management: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

The whole world is suffering from COVID-19 pandemic. This disease has halted life and has a negative impact on physical and mental health of all individuals. Objectives: To identify impact of BMI on Covid-19 clinical features and its management in terms of relationship among patients at government hospitals, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methodology: This study enrolled 206 patients having both genders and was carried at Life Diabetes Centre, Gujrat and CMH Kharian Medical College (CKMC), over a period of 3 months, Kharian-Pakistan following ethical review committee’s (ERC) approval. Statistical analysis: Data was analyzed by SPSS software, version 17. Parameters like age, gender and treatment taken were presented as frequency. Chi square was applied to see the correlation with p-value <0.05 as significant. Results: Total 206 patients were randomly selected, 89 male and 117 females. Among 206, patients (n=133) showed symptoms while rest of the patients (73) remained asymptomatic. There was no association of BMI with COVID-19 symptoms having P-value greater than 0.05. There was an association of BMI with gender as P-value (0.000*). There was an association of BMI with age having P-value (0.000*). Conclusion: From present study, we concluded that there was a correlation between BMI and individuals with higher BMI as they developed more serious symptoms and required active management strategies in comparison to individuals who were either underweight or normal weight. Key Words: Covid-19, BMI, Treatment and Gender.