Table 4.
Characteristics, baseline biochemical variables and cytokine levels of the COVID-19 cohort used for the sub-study of MS classified according to the Alberti et al. criteria [25].
| Variables | Non-MS Mean (SD); n (%) n = 109 |
MS Mean (SD); n (%) n = 15 |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 55.60 (16.63) | 68.80 (9.26) | 0.003 * | |
| Sex N (%) | Male | 59.00 (54.10) | 9.00 (60.00) | 0.670 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.20 (5.49) | 30.93 (4.48) | 0.002 * | |
| SBP (mmHg) | 128.64 (20.56) | 134.20 (15.38) | 0.212 | |
| DBP (mmHg) | 79.45 (10.35) | 78.53 (10.22) | 0.615 | |
| Admission stay—mean (SD) | 17.51 (19.43) | 13.71 (20.67) | 0.432 | |
| ICU admission N (%) | 28 (25.70) | 2 (13.30) | 0.297 | |
| Invasive ventilatory support need N (%) | 32 (29.40) | 4 (26.70) | 0.579 | |
| Mortality N (%) | 5 (4.60) | 1 (6.70) | 0.726 | |
| Biochemical parameters—Mean (SD) or Median (IQR): | ||||
| Leukocytes (×109/L) | 6.55 (4.85–8.56) | 6.68 (5.59–7.60) | 0.981 | |
| Lymphocytes (×109/L) | 1.07 (0.60) | 1.14 (0.61) | 0.631 | |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 12.95 (11.62–13.90) | 12.40 (10.75–14.25) | 0.456 | |
| D-Dimer (ng/mL) | 545.50 (389.50–888.25) | 554.50 (313.00–813.75) | 0.634 | |
| ESR (mm) | 66.91 (36.78) | 59.33 (48.37) | 0.402 | |
| Ferritin (ng/mL) | 391.50 (147.25–685.75) | 396.00 (142.00–492.50) | 0.855 | |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 7.10 (3.00–14.00) | 6.45 (2.12–17.75) | 0.748 | |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 103.00 (86.00–123.00) | 130.00 (102.75–150.75) | <0.001 * | |
| Total-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 135.23 (33.97) | 141.90 (33.83) | 0.462 | |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.75 (0.58–0.89) | 0.86 (0.73–0.98) | 0.054 | |
| AST (U/L) | 31.50 (25.00–44.75) | 22.50 (19.50–53.75) | 0.272 | |
| ALT (U/L) | 30.50 (20.25–54.00) | 25.50 (16.00–63.75) | 0.484 | |
| GGT (U/L) | 44.00 (27.00–79.00) | 55.00 (23.75–129.50) | 0.406 | |
| AP (U/L) | 67.00 (53.00–89.00) | 64.00 (48.00–115.50) | 0.682 | |
| LDH (U/L) | 192.90 (42.02) | 212.08 (59.68) | 0.835 | |
| Troponin (ng/L) | 6.00 (2–14.25) | 10.50 (4.25–27.75) | 0.094 | |
| Cytokines—Median (IQR): | ||||
| Resistin (×103 pg/mL) | 41.22 (23.52–71.23) | 39.76 (32.58–69.95) | 0.878 | |
| INF-β (pg/mL) | 889.50 (333.15–2466.04) | 996.43 (299.07-) | 0.565 | |
| INF-γ (pg/mL) | 11.40 (5.35–21.77) | 15.35 (5.37–25.69) | 0.825 | |
| IL-1β (pg/mL) | 5.89 (2.43–13.17) | 2.49 (1.09–5.47) | 0.035 * | |
| IL-6 (pg/mL) | 11.8 (5.10–28.15) | 15.60 (3.00–29.10) | 0.905 | |
| IL-7 (pg/mL) | 7.43 (3.36–14.12) | 6.03 (3.95–10.07) | 0.712 | |
| IL-8 (pg/mL) | 40.55 (14.41–98.12) | 68.61 (27.97–94.56) | 0.338 | |
| IL-10 (pg/mL) | 35.03 (8.19–65.49) | 24.42 (4.98–50.54) | 0.474 | |
| IL-13 (pg/mL) | 15.48 (8.96–30.80) | 12.03 (5.15–19.05) | 0.141 | |
| IL-15 (pg/mL) | 10.73 (6.88–17.52) | 9.90 (6.57–15.88) | 0.594 | |
| IL-17A (pg/mL) | 11.39 (2.44–25.53) | 3.48 (2.29–11.40) | 0.103 | |
| IL-18 (pg/mL) | 52.50 (24.62–81.20) | 68.81 (47.18–103.74) | 0.203 | |
| MCP-1 (pg/mL) | 753.29 (559.36–1071.87) | 829.87 (392.41–954.92) | 0.449 | |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 44.96 (26.33–65.54) | 44.96 (36.10–57.63) | 0.837 | |
Non-MS, non-metabolic syndrome patients; MS, metabolic syndrome patients; SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, c-reactive protein; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; GGT, gamma-glutamyltransferase; AP, alkaline phosphatase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; IL, interleukin; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha. Quantitative data are expressed as the mean (SD) or median (interquartile range, IQR) depending on the distribution of the variables. * Significant differences between non-MS group and MS group (p < 0.05) by Mann–Whitney.