Body weight, dietary intake, and health risk factors pre-COVID and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Variability in Body Mass Index during 2018-2021 for People with Type 1 Diabetes: Real World Data from the USA, Germany, and Australasia

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated worldwide lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, with restrictions on physical activity and changes in eating habits. The aim of this study was to investigate temporal trends in body mass index (BMI) and BMI Standard Deviation Score (SDS) in three international type 1 diabetes (T1D) registries between 2018 and 2021.

METHODS

Data were extracted from DPV (Germany/Austria/Luxembourg/Switzerland), T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative (T1DX-QI, USA), and the Australasian Diabetes Data Network (ADDN, Australia/New Zealand). The period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was defined as March to December 2020 and March to December 2021 and compared with the respective 9-month periods in 2018 and 2019. Estimated mean BMI (adults ≥19 years) and WHO BMI SDS (children and adolescents 5 to <19 years) were calculated, adjusted for sex, age, HbA1c, and diabetes duration. Adjusted mean proportions overweight (BMI ≥25 in adults or BMI SDS >1 in children and adolescents 5 to <19 years) and obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2 or BMI SDS >2 in children and adolescents 5 to <19 years) were also calculated, adjusted for sex, age, HbA1c, and diabetes duration.

RESULTS

The study population comprised: ADDN (n = 14,624, median age 15.7 years, 51% male); DPV (n = 62,732, 16.1 years, 53.3% male); and T1DX-QI (n = 22,942, 17.1 years, 52.1% male). In the DPV registry, BMI SDS in children and adolescents and BMI in adults increased consistently between 2018 and 2021 (p < 0.001). In ADDN and T1DX-QI, variable changes in BMI and BMI SDS were seen in adults and young people. Close to 50% of people in all registries were either overweight or obese. Proportions overweight remained relatively stable across the 4 years. The proportion of obesity increased in children 5 to <10 years.

CONCLUSIONS

A slight increase in BMI and BMI SDS observed before the pandemic continued during the pandemic years. The proportion of overweight and obesity was overall high. Healthy weight remains a priority for people with T1D.

Frailty after COVID-19: The wave after?

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an ongoing public health challenge, with a focus on older adults. Given the large number of older persons who have recovered from COVID-19 and reports of long-lasting sequelae, there is reasonable concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to a long-term deterioration in the health of older adults, i.e., a potential "wave of frailty." Therefore, it is critical to better understand the circumstances surrounding the development of frailty as a result of COVID-19, as well as the underlying mechanisms and factors contributing to this development. We conducted a narrative review of the most relevant articles published on the association between COVID-19 and frailty through January 2023. Although few studies to date have addressed the effects of COVID-19 on the onset and progression of frailty, the available data suggest that there is indeed an increase in frailty in the elderly as a result of COVID-19. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, a multicausal genesis can be assumed, involving both direct viral effects and indirect effects, particularly from the imposed lockdowns with devastating consequences for the elderly: decreased physical activity, altered diet, sarcopenia, fatigue, social isolation, neurological problems, inflammation, and cardiovascular morbidity are among the possible mediators. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to an increase in frailty in the elderly, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of this still little-known problem of potentially great public health importance and to find appropriate prevention and treatment measures.

Comparison of anthropometric parameters and laboratory test results before and after the COVID-19 outbreak among Chinese children aged 3–18 years

Objective

To compare the physiological health of Chinese children around the COVID-19 lockdown.

Methods

We extracted data on children's anthropometric and laboratory parameters from May to November in both 2019 and 2020 from the Health Checkup Center, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. Overall, 2162 children aged 3~18 years without comorbidities in 2019 and 2646 in 2020 were assessed. Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare differences between the above health indicators before and after COVID-19 outbreak. Quantile regression analyses adjusted for age, sex and body mass index (BMI) were also used in analysis. Chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests were used for comparing differences of categorical variables.

Results

Compared with children examined in 2019 before the outbreak, children in 2020 had a higher median z score of BMI for age (−0.16 vs. −0.31), total cholesterol (TC, 4.34 vs. 4.16 mmol/L), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, 2.48 vs. 2.15 mmol/L), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, 1.45 vs. 1.43 mmol/L) and serum uric acid (290 vs. 282 μmol/L), and a lower hemoglobin (Hb, 134 vs. 133 g/L), triglycerides (TG, 0.70 vs. 0.78 mmol/L) and 25(OH)D (45.8 vs. 52.2 nmol/L), all P &lt; 0.05. No differences were identified for waist height ratio, blood pressure and fasting glucose (both P &gt; 0.05). However, in regression models after adjusting, BMI, TC, LDL-C, blood glucose and sUA were positively correlated with year; while Hb, TG and 25(OH)D were negatively correlated with year (all P &lt; 0.05). Accordingly, children in 2020 had a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity (20.6 vs. 16.7%, P &lt; 0.001), hypercholesterol (16.2%vs. 10.2%, P &lt; 0.001), high LDL-C (10 vs. 2.9%, P &lt; 0.001), hyperuricemia (18.9 vs.15.1%, P = 0.002), vitamin D deficiency (22.6 vs. 8.1%, P &lt; 0.001) and a lower prevalence of high TG (4.3 vs. 2.8%, P = 0.018) compared with children in 2019.

Conclusion

In this real-world study, we found that long-term lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak might cause adverse impact on children's metabolic health, which might increase their future risk of cardiovascular diseases. Thus, parents, health professionals, educationists, and caregivers should pay more attention to children's dietary pattern and lifestyle, especially in this new normal against COVID-19.

Eating Habits and Body Weight Changes Induced by Variation in Smell and Taste in Patients with Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction are recognized as common symptoms in patients with COVID-19, with a prevalence ranging, respectively, between 41-61% and 38.2-49%. This review focused on relating the variations in dietary habits with the reduction/loss of smell and/or taste in patients who contracted the COVID-19 infection. Primarily, we reviewed the main pathological mechanisms involved in COVID 19-induced anosmia/dysosmia and ageusia/dysgeusia. Then, we explored and summarized the behavioural changes in food intake and body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to sensory impairment and the underlying mechanisms. Most studies on this topic argue that the altered chemosensory perception (taste and smell) mainly induces reduced appetite, leading to a faster fullness sensation during the consumption of a meal and, therefore, to a decrease in body weight. On the other hand, a reduced perception of the food's sensory properties may trigger compensatory responses that lead some individuals to increase food intake with a different effect on body weight. Regarding body weight, most studies evaluated malnutrition in patients hospitalized for COVID-19; more studies are warranted to investigate nutritional status specifically in non-hospitalized patients with olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions caused by COVID-19 infection.