Rationale: Obesity is a clinical characteristic of Covid patients. However, patients are discharged from the hospital with an elevated weight loss.(1) ¿What is the evaluation of body composition and weight change of patients recovered from COVID-19 at the first post-covid patient nutritional care?
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included patients with the diagnosis of COVID-19 assessed after their hospitalization. We evaluated weight changes according to time of change between discharge and first nutritional counseling after hospitalization. Actual body weight, Body mass index (BMI), change of weight was assessed. Body composition characteristics of patients were describe and measured using the medical body composition analyzer SECA mBCA 514. Sarcopenia was assesses according Musclesqueletical mass (kg/m2) using international criteria (2). Descriptive analysis used percentage, median, and standard deviation for Results.
Results: This study recruited 24 patients: 62.5% men and 37.5% women. The average age was 55.87±12.6 years, and comorbidities were present in 58% of patients, such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, dyslipidemia. The referred percentage of weight loss in hospitalization was 15.9±12.5 during an average length of stay reported of 27.3±178 days. Change weight average after hospitalización was 7.4±10.2 kg during 126±73 days between discharge and nutritional counseling after hospitalization. Gain weight was present in 87% and weight loss in 13% of patients. Most patients present excess body weight according to body mass index (BMI): 29.56±5.61kg/m2. Normal weight was presented in 16.7%, overweight in 45.8%, obesity grade I 25%, obesity grade II 4.2%, and obesity grade III 8.3%. Body composition analysis presented in Table 1 showed a high amount of fat mass and visceral fat in the general population. Musclesqueletical mass corrected by height in the general population and according to sex (male and female) were 9.4±1.9 kg/m2, 9.9±2 kg/m2, and 8.4±1.3 kg/m2, respectively. Only 1 female patient showed to be sarcopenic.
Table 1.
Body composition of pos covid patients at first nutritional counseling after discharge.
| Characteristics | Mean ± SD |
|---|---|
| Actual body weight | 78.3±15.8 |
| Height | 1.6±0.1 |
| Waist circunference | 98.4±13.5 |
| Fat mass (%) | 32.6±11.6 |
| Fat free mass (%) | 67.3±11.6 |
| Total body water (%) | 49.7±11.2 |
| Musclesqueletical mass (kg) | 25.4±7.2 |
| Visceral fat (L) | 7.8±20.3 |
Conclusion: Covid-19 patients recovered their weight after hospitalization. Body composition showed an important high amount of fat and visceral fat mass. It is important to assess nutritional status in order to give the right nutritional treatment.
References:
(1) Luigi Di Filippo, Rebecca De Lorenzo, Marta D'Amico, Valentina Sofia, Luisa Roverib Roberto Mele, et al. COVID-19 is associated with clinically significant weight loss and risk of malnutrition, independent of hospitalisation: A post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study. Clin Nutr. 2021 Apr; 40(4): 2420–2426.
(2) Alfonso J Cruz-Jentoft, Gülistan Bahat, Jürgen Bauer, Yves Boirie, Olivier Bruyère, Tommy Cederholm, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 2019 Jan; 48(1): 16–31.
Disclosure of Interest: None declared.
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