Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 26;31(9):2596-2604.
doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2021.05.016. Epub 2021 May 27.

Metabolic syndrome and the risk of COVID-19 infection: A nationwide population-based case-control study

Dong-Hyuk Cho  1 , Jimi Choi  2 , Jun Gyo Gwon  3
Affiliations

Metabolic syndrome and the risk of COVID-19 infection: A nationwide population-based case-control study

Dong-Hyuk Cho et al. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. .

Abstract

Background and aims: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a chronic, low-grade inflammatory disease. This study aimed to investigate the impact of MetS on the risk and severity of COVID-19.

Methods and results: We investigated a nationwide cohort with COVID-19 including all patients who underwent the test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Korea. The COVID-19 group included 4070 patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 test results, and the age- and sex-matched control group included 27,618 subjects with negative SARS-CoV-2 test results. The endpoints were SARS-CoV-2 positivity and the severity of COVID-19. The prevalence of MetS was 24.7% and 24.5% in the COVID-19 and control groups, respectively. The presence of MetS was not associated with the risk of developing COVID-19. Among the components of MetS, central obesity was associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 infection (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.28, P = 0.001). The presence of MetS was significantly associated with severe COVID-19 (aOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 0.78-2.00, P = 0.352). Among the individual components of MetS, prediabetes/diabetes mellitus was associated with a higher risk of severe COVID-19 (aOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.21-2.13, P = 0.001). The risk of severe COVID-19 linearly increased according to the number of metabolic components (P for trend = 0.005).

Conclusion: In this nationwide cohort study, the individuals with MetS had a significant increase in the risk of severe COVID-19 infection. These patients, particularly those with central obesity and insulin resistance, deserve special attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Metabolic syndrome; Nationwide cohort study; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Disposition of the patients with coronavirus disease and matched controls. The figure demonstrates the flowchart of the study population.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Continuous association between the metabolic profile and COVID-19. The adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was demonstrated. The WC and FBG levels were associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. COVID-19, coronavirus disease; WC, waist circumference; FBG, fasting blood glucose.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of COVID-19 according to the components of metabolic syndrome. The risk of COVID-19 infection increased in the patients according to the number of metabolic components. COVID-19, coronavirus disease
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Phelan A.L., Katz R., Gostin L.O. The novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China: challenges for global health governance. J Am Med Assoc. 2020;323:709–710. - PubMed
    1. Cucinotta D., Vanelli M. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta Biomed: Atenei Parmensis. 2020;91:157–160. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bhatraju P.K., Ghassemieh B.J., Nichols M., Kim R., Jerome K.R., Nalla A.K. Covid-19 in critically ill patients in the Seattle region—Case series. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:2012–2022. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cho D.-H. The impact of COVID-19 on heart failure: what happened to the patients with heart failure who could not visit our clinic amid the COVID-19 pandemic? Int J Heart Failure. 2021;3:125–127. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ruscitti P., Berardicurti O., Iagnocco A., Giacomelli R. Cytokine storm syndrome in severe COVID-19. Autoimmun Rev. 2020;19:102562. - PMC - PubMed