Researchers from California just published a retrospective analysis of Swine Flu-H1N1 deaths in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Increasing body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with an increased risk of death for patients infected with H1N1. In multivariate analysis, patients with a BMI ≥40 and BMI ≥45 (normal BMI 20-25) had an increased odds (risk) of death of 2.8 and 4.2 (3 – 4 times higher), respectively.
So one can now add an increased risk of death from H1N1 to the growing list of obesity related morbidity, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and arthritis. Pardon the pun, but the list of obesity related complications is growing larger.
It is safer being svelte.
