COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: A Single-Center Experience.
Front Nutr. 2022; 9:837458.FN

Abstract

The first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Taiwan occurred in May 2021. The risk for and severity of this disease vary and are highly dependent on personal habits and comorbidities. Moreover, the gut microbiome, which may be affected by diet, is highly susceptible with regard to the risk and severity of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. The relationship between dietary habits, nutritional status, and the effects of these factors on the immune system in the context of a global pandemic is an extremely important topic of immediate concern. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the effect of vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets on COVID-19 severity during the pandemic. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of 509 patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 at a single medical center between May 2021 and August 2021. Patients were divided into three groups according to disease severity. For patients aged ≥65 years, COVID-19 symptom severity was statistically significantly and inversely associated with the adherence to a vegetarian diet (p = 0.013). Moreover, subgroup analysis results showed that older COVID-19 patients and those with a non-vegetarian diet had a higher risk of contracting critically severe COVID-19 [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 5.434, p = 0.005]. Further research is needed to determine the effects of dietary habits on COVID-19 risk and severity during the global pandemic.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Hou YC

Department of Nutrition, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Su WL

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan. School of Medicine, Tzu-Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.

Chao YC

School of Medicine, Tzu-Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

35571931

Citation

Hou, Yi-Cheng, et al. "COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: a Single-Center Experience." Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 9, 2022, p. 837458.

Hou YC, Su WL, Chao YC. COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: A Single-Center Experience. Front Nutr. 2022;9:837458.

Hou, Y. C., Su, W. L., & Chao, Y. C. (2022). COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: A Single-Center Experience. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 837458. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.837458

Hou YC, Su WL, Chao YC. COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: a Single-Center Experience. Front Nutr. 2022;9:837458. PubMed PMID: 35571931.

* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case

TY - JOUR T1 - COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: A Single-Center Experience. AU - Hou,Yi-Cheng, AU - Su,Wen-Lin, AU - Chao,You-Chen, Y1 - 2022/04/29/ PY - 2021/12/16/received PY - 2022/04/01/accepted PY - 2022/5/16/entrez PY - 2022/5/17/pubmed PY - 2022/5/17/medline KW - COVID-19 KW - Taiwan KW - diet KW - illness severity KW - nutritional status SP - 837458 EP - 837458 JF - Frontiers in nutrition JO - Front Nutr VL - 9 N2 - The first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Taiwan occurred in May 2021. The risk for and severity of this disease vary and are highly dependent on personal habits and comorbidities. Moreover, the gut microbiome, which may be affected by diet, is highly susceptible with regard to the risk and severity of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. The relationship between dietary habits, nutritional status, and the effects of these factors on the immune system in the context of a global pandemic is an extremely important topic of immediate concern. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the effect of vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets on COVID-19 severity during the pandemic. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of 509 patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 at a single medical center between May 2021 and August 2021. Patients were divided into three groups according to disease severity. For patients aged ≥65 years, COVID-19 symptom severity was statistically significantly and inversely associated with the adherence to a vegetarian diet (p = 0.013). Moreover, subgroup analysis results showed that older COVID-19 patients and those with a non-vegetarian diet had a higher risk of contracting critically severe COVID-19 [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 5.434, p = 0.005]. Further research is needed to determine the effects of dietary habits on COVID-19 risk and severity during the global pandemic. SN - 2296-861X UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/35571931/full_citation DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -

Tags

COVID-19 Illness Severity in the Elderly in Relation to Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Diets: A Single-Center Experience.Front Nutr. 2022; 9:837458.FN