Denson, Joshua L, Gillet, Aaron S, Zu, Yuanhao, Brown, Margo, Pham, Thaidan, Yoshida, Yilin, Mauvais-Jarvis, Franck, Douglas, Ivor S, Moore, Mathew, Tea, Kevin, Wetherbie, Andrew, Stevens, Rachael, Lefante, John, Shaffer, Jeffrey G, Armaignac, Donna Lee, Belden, Katherine A, Kaufman, Margit, Heavner, Smith F, Danesh, Valerie C, Cheruku, Sreekanth R, St Hill, Catherine A, Boman, Karen, Deo, Neha, Bansal, Vikas, Kumar, Vishakha K, Walkey, Allan J, Kashyap, Rahul, Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study, Mesland, Jean-Baptiste, UCL - SSS/DDUV - Institut de Duve, UCL - SSS/DDUV/GECE - Génétique cellulaire, and UCL - (SLuc) Service de soins intensifs
Key Points Question What is the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death in patients with COVID-19 with metabolic syndrome? Findings In this cohort study including 46 441 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, metabolic syndrome was associated with significantly increased odds of ARDS and death. With each metabolic syndrome criterion added from 1 to 4 criteria, the risk of ARDS significantly increased in an additive fashion. Meaning These findings suggest that metabolic syndrome and its associated comorbidities were critical risk factors associated with COVID-19–related ARDS and death., This cohort study examines the association of metabolic syndrome with risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19., Importance Obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are common comorbidities in patients with severe COVID-19, yet little is known about the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or death in patients with COVID-19 and metabolic syndrome. Objective To determine whether metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of ARDS and death from COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants This multicenter cohort study used data from the Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Respiratory Illness Universal Study collected from 181 hospitals across 26 countries from February 15, 2020, to February 18, 2021. Outcomes were compared between patients with metabolic syndrome (defined as ≥3 of the following criteria: obesity, prediabetes or diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia) and a control population without metabolic syndrome. Participants included adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the study period who had a completed discharge status. Data were analyzed from February 22 to October 5, 2021. Exposures Exposures were SARS-CoV-2 infection, metabolic syndrome, obesity, prediabetes or diabetes, hypertension, and/or dyslipidemia. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included ARDS, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, need for invasive mechanical ventilation, and length of stay (LOS). Results Among 46 441 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 29 040 patients (mean [SD] age, 61.2 [17.8] years; 13 059 [45.0%] women and 15713 [54.1%] men; 6797 Black patients [23.4%], 5325 Hispanic patients [18.3%], and 16 507 White patients [57.8%]) met inclusion criteria. A total of 5069 patients (17.5%) with metabolic syndrome were compared with 23 971 control patients (82.5%) without metabolic syndrome. In adjusted analyses, metabolic syndrome was associated with increased risk of ICU admission (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.32 [95% CI, 1.14-1.53]), invasive mechanical ventilation (aOR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.28-1.65]), ARDS (aOR, 1.36 [95% CI, 1.12-1.66]), and mortality (aOR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.08-1.31]) and prolonged hospital LOS (median [IQR], 8.0 [4.2-15.8] days vs 6.8 [3.4-13.0] days; P