BMI and future risk for COVID-19 infection and death across sex, age and ethnicity: Preliminary findings from UK biobank

Disease areas:

• infections

Last updated:

2 July 2025

Author(s):

Naveed Sattar, Frederick K. Ho, Jason MR. Gill, Nazim Ghouri, Stuart R. Gray, Carlos A. Celis-Morales, S. Vittal Katikireddi, Colin Berry, Jill P. Pell, John JV. McMurray, Paul Welsh

Publish date:

30 June 2020

Journal:

Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Research & Reviews

PubMed ID:

32668401

DOI:

10.1016/j.dsx.2020.06.060

Abstract

AIMS: We examined the link between BMI and risk of a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 and risk of COVID-19-related death among UK Biobank participants.

METHODS: Among 4855 participants tested for SARS-CoV-2 in hospital, 839 were positive and of these 189 died from COVID-19. Poisson models with penalised thin plate splines were run relating exposures of interest to test positivity and case-fatality, adjusting for confounding factors.

RESULTS: BMI was associated strongly with positive test, and risk of death related to COVID-19. The gradient of risk in relation to BMI was steeper in those under 70, compared with those aged 70 years or older for COVID-19 related death (P_interaction = 0.03). BMI was more strongly related to test positivity (P_interaction = 0.010) and death (P_interaction = 0.002) in non-whites (predominantly South Asians and Afro-Caribbeans), compared with whites.

CONCLUSIONS: These data add support for adiposity being more strongly linked to COVID-19-related deaths in younger people and non-white ethnicities. If future studies confirm causality, lifestyle interventions to improve adiposity status may be important to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in all, but perhaps particularly, non-white communities.