A Lancet study shows how BMI and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccine are linked

The effectiveness of Covid19 vaccines were found to be similar for those with a higher body mass index BMI and of a healthy weight but slightly lower for underweight people according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes amp EndocrinologyResearchers from the University of Oxford compared risk of severe disease in vaccinated versus unvaccinated people at least 14 days after a second doseWhile overall the findings showed Covid19 vaccines greatly reduced the number of cases of severe disease for everyone regardless of their body size the effect was slightly lower in underweight peopleUnderweight vaccinated people had around half the likelihood of being hospitalised or dying compared with unvaccinated people of the same BMIAccording to researchers it may be because underweight people were also the least likely to have been vaccinated It may also reflect a reduced immune response as a consequence of frailty or other conditions associated with low body weight Further research is needed to explore the relationship between BMI and immune responses the researchers saidOn the contrary people in the healthy and high BMI groups who were vaccinated were around 70 per cent less likely to be hospitalised than unvaccinated people People with a healthy or a higher BMI were also around twothirds less likely to die than their unvaccinated counterparts two weeks after a second doseOur findings provide further evidence that Covid19 vaccines save lives for people of all sizes Our results provide reassurance to people with obesity that Covid19 vaccines are equally as effective for them as for people with a lower BMI and that vaccination substantially reduces their risk of severe illness if they are infected with Covid19 said lead author Dr Carmen Piernas of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at OxfordThese data also highlight the need for targeted efforts to increase vaccine uptake in people with a low BMI where uptake is currently lower than for people with a higher BMI Piernas addedFor the study the team included 9171524 patients who were over 18 years old had BMI data and had not previously been infected with SARSCoV2 from December 8 2020 to November 17 2021 People were grouped based on their BMIFurther people with low and high BMI were significantly higher risk of severe disease following two doses of vaccine compared with a healthy BMI the researchers foundFor example a BMI of 17 was linked to a 50 per cent increase in risk of hospitalisation compared with a healthy BMI of 23 and a very high BMI of 44 had three times the risk of hospitalisation compared with a healthy BMIWhile the cause of the increased risk among people with obesity is unknown it is consistent with the higher rate of seasonal flu infections in people with a higher BMI the team said that an altered immune response in heavier weight individuals may be to blameAlso Read Six ways millennials can adopt healthy eating habitsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever