Figure 4.

Potential interactions of COVID-19 and metabolic disease. Inflammation of adipose tissue that exist in metabolic disease worsens the viral infection and the response to the virus. The metabolic disturbance limits the recovery process and may facilitate colonization of other cell types as the virus propagates. The co-existence of the underlying metabolic dysfunction with the propagating infection can lead to increasing serious disease presentation. The longer term consequences are currently under intense scrutiny.