Frailty and high BMI named as high Covid-19 risk factors by Scottish researchers

Scottish researchers have pinpointed risk factors for Covid-19

One analysis of 1,564 hospital patients at 10 sites in the UK and one in Italy by specialists in geriatric care suggests increasing frailty is linked to a higher risk of death and longer time spent in hospital.

The study, published today in The Lancet Public Health, was carried out by a group of researchers, including some from the University of Aberdeen, as well as from Cardiff University and King’s College London. It is the first to explore the impact of frailty on death risk in the current pandemic.

The researchers said their findings showed frailty assessment was crucial to inform clinical decisions in Covid-19 treatment and urged its use as a key indicator to assess a patient’s risk of dying.

Meanwhile, a separate study from the University of Glasgow, published in journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, revealed that a higher BMI is strongly linked to risk for Coronavirus in hospital and related death.

Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at Glasgow University’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, said that these associations were stronger for individuals under 70 versus those over 70 years of age at the time of pandemic, while they were also stronger for non-whites – predominantly South Asians and Afro-Caribbean's - compared with white people.

He said: “said: “These findings reiterate a likely independent and linear link between excess weight and risk for COVID-19, and the risk of dying from COVID-19.

“Our findings suggest excess weight appears to be a stronger risk factor for bad outcomes in people under 70 years of age and in non-white races. If excess weight does prove to directly contribute to adverse COVID-19 outcomes, then tackling excess weight presents a modifiable risk factor for many in the community.”

The University of Aberdeen study found that patients who were considered to be severely frail were 2.4 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those who weren’t assessed as frail, after accounting for age, other health problems and the severity of illness when patients were admitted to hospital.

Frailty is a clinical condition signified by a loss of reserves, energy and wellbeing that leaves people vulnerable to sudden changes in health and at risk of hospital admission, the need for long-term care or death.

The aim of the COPE (Covid-19 in Older People) study was to establish the prevalence of frailty in Covid-19 patients – and investigate its influence on mortality and length of hospital stay.

One of the senior authors, Professor Phyo Myint, chair in old age medicine at the University of Aberdeen added: “As we get older we become frailer but not all older people are frail.

“Our finding that frailty is associated with poor mortality outcome in patients with Covid-19 independently of either age or underlying health issues is important. Frailty should form part of routine assessment in determining whether someone may die from Covid-19 to inform future responses to covid-19 as we move through the pandemic.”

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