Covid and risk factors, among many there is also abdominal obesity. A study, which is part of the VARCO-19 research project, carried out in collaboration with the University of Milan and by researchers from the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, points the finger at obesity yes, but in particular at abdominal obesity. “The drop in antibody levels, between the first and third month after inoculation of the second dose of ‘Covid-19 vaccine‘, it was significantly higher in individuals with abdominal obesity compared to those who presented a normal distribution of adipose tissue “reads the research, published by the journal Obesity, the official organ of the American Obesity Society.
The study was carried out under the guidance of Dr. Alexis Elias Malavazos, researcher of the Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences of the State University of Milan and head of the Endocrinology Operating Unit and of the Clinical Nutrition and Cardiovascular Prevention Service IRCCS Policlinico San Donato and professor Massimiliano Marco Corsi Romanelli, professor of Clinical Pathology of the Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health of the State and director of the Complex Structure and Laboratory Medicine Service-1 (SMEL-1) – Clinical Pathology IRCCS Policlinico San Donato and director of the BioCor Biobank and in collaboration with Professor Gianluca Iacobellis of the University of Miami and Professor Michele Carruba, President of the Center for Study and Research on Obesity (CSRO) of the University of Milan.
“Vaccines – the researchers point out – are an important weapon especially for the categories most at risk, including those affected by obesity and, in particular, with a predominant accumulation of fatty tissue in the abdominal (visceral) level, both recognized by the Scientific Community as important risk factors for a more severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, as these subjects have a chronic inflammatory state which, if associated with the inflammatory process of the disease, worsens the pre-existing inflammatory state, creating a storm of pro-inflammatory molecules (“cytokine storm”) “.
To evaluate the distribution of adipose tissue, the measurement of the abdominal circumference can be used, which must be taken at the narrowest point of the abdomen and is measured by placing a flexible meter in the midpoint between the last rib and the iliac crest. waist greater than 80 cm in women and 94 cm in men allow the diagnosis of abdominal obesity, characterized by an abdominal distribution of adipose tissue and associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
The study therefore aimed to evaluate the antibody response to the COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in the workers of the San Donato Hospital Group. In particular, three months after the second dose of the vaccine, they were compared the antibody responses of individuals with abdominal obesity compared to those with normal adipose tissue distribution, distinguishing between individuals with or without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, assessed by the presence of nucleocapsid antibodies. It was therefore observed that, considering those who did not have a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, between the first and third month after the second vaccine dose, the drop in antibody levels was significantly greater in individuals with abdominal obesity compared to those who presented a normal distribution of adipose tissue.
In detail, 1060 patients underwent the study. Of these 492 were suffering from abdominal obesity (including 380 without a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and 112 with a previous infection). While, 568 had normal adipose tissue distribution (including 440 without a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and 128 with a previous infection). In subjects without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and with abdominal obesity, the decrease in neutralizing antibodies (IgG-TrimericS) between the first and third month after the second dose of vaccine was 2.4 times (58% decrease) more marked than a decline of only 1.8 times (44% decrease) in individuals with a normal distribution of adipose tissue.
“It is important to encourage the population to undergo vaccination with any of the vaccines currently available – underline the authors of the study -. The decline in antibody levels in individuals with abdominal obesity further supports the recent recommendations of several national and international scientific societies such as the Italian Obesity Society (SIO), the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and the Obesity Society ( American Obesity Society), to offer booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine to all adults, especially those with high-risk medical conditions including obesity and those with abdominal obesity phenotype”.