Key comorbidities in the development of post-COVID conditions: diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity.
Karina Marques Prediger, Ana Cristina Ribeiro La Scaléa, Sílvia Carla da Silva André Uehara
PMID 42696745WHAT IT FOUND
Hypertension and obesity were associated with different post-COVID symptom patterns in 350 adults: hypertensive patients reported weakness more often, obese patients reported diarrhea and upper-limb tingling.
No treatment was tested.
Key findings
01Hypertensive individuals had twice the prevalence of weakness or loss of muscle strength compared with normotensive individuals (95% CI 1.13 to 4.38).
02Obese individuals had more prevalent diarrhea (95% CI 1.67 to 148.7) and upper-limb tingling or throbbing (95% CI 1.89 to 18.9).
03In the analysed sample of 350 adults, 48.2% had comorbidities, including 30.3% hypertension, 15.1% diabetes, and 16% obesity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that diabetes, hypertension or obesity caused the reported symptoms. Data came from electronic medical records, and the authors say this may underestimate the true prevalence of post-COVID symptoms. The sample included only adults who returned to primary care with post-COVID symptoms, so it does not describe all people with COVID-19. Many symptoms were compared across several comorbidity groups, and the paper reports inconsistent directions for the overall comorbidity comparison and for diabetes.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by FAPESP, CNPq, and CAPES. No conflicts of interest are stated in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the symptom differences as proof that diabetes, hypertension or obesity cause particular post-COVID symptoms. The study is cross-sectional and cannot infer causality, and the paper reports inconsistent directions for diabetes and headache or sore throat.