“We know that changes in nutritional quality alone, even without weight loss, quickly improve metabolic health in as little as six to eight weeks.
“It is critical to test such lifestyle approaches to reduce severe COVID-19 infections, both for this pandemic and for future pandemics that are likely to occur.”
The model used data from the 906,849 COVID-19 hospital stays in the United States as of November 18, 2020.
Age and race / ethnicity of hospitalization based on the four conditions were also taken into account. It is estimated that around 8 percent of hospital stays in adults under the age of 50 are due to diabetes, compared with 29 percent of those over 65.
The study also found that COVID-19 hospital stays were higher among black adults than white ones, and the rates of diabetes and obesity were higher among Hispanic adults than white ones.
For example, in young adults ages 18 to 49, the conditions have been estimated to cause about 39 percent of hospital stays in white adults, versus 50 percent in blacks.
“National data shows that Black and Hispanic Americans suffer the worst outcomes from COVID-19,” said Dr. Mozaffarian.
“Our results support the need to prioritize vaccine distribution, good nutrition, and other preventive measures in people with cardiometabolic disorders, especially those groups most affected by health inequalities.”
