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Multicenter Study
. 2020 Sep;40(9):2160-2163.
doi: 10.1111/liv.14575. Epub 2020 Jul 5.

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease is associated with severity of COVID-19

Yu-Jie Zhou  1   2 , Kenneth I Zheng  1 , Xiao-Bo Wang  3 , Qing-Feng Sun  4 , Ke-Hua Pan  5 , Ting-Yao Wang  6 , Hong-Lei Ma  1 , Yong-Ping Chen  1 , Jacob George  7 , Ming-Hua Zheng  1   8   9
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease is associated with severity of COVID-19

Yu-Jie Zhou et al. Liver Int. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has attracted increasing worldwide attention. While metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) affects a quarter of world population, its impact on COVID-19 severity has not been characterized. We identified 55 MAFLD patients with COVID-19, who were 1:1 matched by age, sex and obesity status to non-aged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients without MAFLD. Our results demonstrate that in patients aged less than 60 years with COVID-19, MAFLD is associated with an approximately fourfold increase (adjusted odds ratio 4.07, 95% confidence interval 1.20-13.79, P = .02) in the probability for severe disease, after adjusting for confounders. Healthcare professionals caring for patients with COVID-19 need to be aware that there is a positive association between MAFLD and severe illness with COVID-19.

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Comment in

  • Genetic insight into COVID-19-related liver injury.
    Bianco C, Baselli G, Malvestiti F, Santoro L, Pelusi S, Manunta M, Grasselli G, Bandera A, Scudeller L, Prati D, Valenti L. Bianco C, et al. Liver Int. 2021 Jan;41(1):227-229. doi: 10.1111/liv.14708. Epub 2020 Nov 3. Liver Int. 2021. PMID: 33098230 No abstract available.

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