Obesity and H1N1 Flu
A recent report released in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows a correlation between obesity and the H1N1 Influenza A Virus, also known as the “Swine Flu’”
The report in JAMA studied the hospitalizations of 1,088 in California. Of those 1,088 patients, they were only able to get the body mass indexes (BMIs) of some of the patients. The data from those BMIs is very interesting.
The Obesity Results
- 25% of the hospitalized patients were morbidly obese
- 58% of the hospitalized patients were obese
The morbid obesity numbers are impressive because fewer than 5% of Americans are morbidly obese. It can be inferred that morbid obesity increases a person’s risk of being hospitalized with H1N1 Flu by 500%. That number is astonishing, especially when compared to pregnancy which increases a woman’s risk of being hospitalized with H1N1 Flu by 600%.
The obesity numbers were also worrisome because while only 33% of Americans are obese, 58% of the hospitalized patients were obese. Obesity increases a person’s risk of being hospitalized with H1N1 Flu by 175%.
Possible Explanations
This increased risk is not anecdotal. There must be some physiological cause. The increased risk may be secondary to:
- Obesity related diseases,
- The relatively smaller lung capacity of obese people, and/or
- The relatively weaker immune systems of obese people
Dr Kal’s Addendum:
There are many H1N1 prevention strategies being promoted, including getting the H1N1 Influenza A Vaccine. We should add losing weight to the list.
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