There are a small number of A (H1N1) swine flu cases in Michigan that have experts wondering why the effects of the flu are worse for people who are classed as obese.
If you’ve got a BMI over 30, you’re considered obese, and even though you aren’t sickly, you still may be at increased risk of severe complications (and even death) from the new A (H1N1) swine flu virus according to a report released in early July.
This comes from work on patients in a Michigan hospital during May-June 2009 who were so sick from the flu they were hospitalized and put on ventilators.
Three of the ten died, and two of those deaths were otherwise healthy patients considered severely obese, with BMIs of over 40.
The study wasn’t designed to see if obesity was linked to A (H1N1), but it was a surprise that seven out of the ten patients admitted to the University of Michigan Medical Center were extremely obese. Nine out of the ten fell into the obese category.
“What this suggests is that there can be severe complications associated with this virus infection, especially in severely obese patients,” explains Dr. Tim Uyeki, an expert on viruses from the CDC and a co-author of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “And five of these patients had… evidence of blood clots in the lungs. This has not been previously known to occur in patients with severe influenza virus infections.”
While complications like blood clots in the lungs and kidney failure had been seen in swine flu cases before, the numbers here were startling.
There were six out of ten who experienced kidney failure along with five who developed blood clots in the lungs.
Only three of the ten patients had another health problem. None of the surviving patients have fully recovered according to researchers.
The good news out of the report is that doctors can safely double the dose of oseltamivir, the antiviral drug known as Tamiflu, that’s been shown to be effective against this organism.
While research cannot conclude from these observations that obesity is a risk factor for A (H1M1), or complications from the illness. It’s always possible that the patients had some undiagnosed condition complicated by the flu.
Overweight people also have a higher risk of asthma and other health problems that might make them more susceptible to this particular virus.
The CDC has the number of U.S. swine flu (lab tested and confirmed) cases at over 37,000, but they admit this doesn’t represent the actual number of cases across the country.
Experts believe that as many as one million Americans may have been infected with the A (H1N1) virus, suffered a mild to moderate illness and recovered unharmed.
To date A (H1N1) has spread to 70 countries around the world, with the United States reporting the largest number of cases.
Barely three months after its first appearance In March 2009, A (H1N1) was declared a pandemic (a mark of the virus’ ability to spread, not its seriousness) by the World Health Organization in June.
At present A (H1N1) flu is spreading steadily in the Southern Hemisphere, right along with seasonal flu.
Though the virus is not as deadly as past examples, and has not mutated into a more virulent form, experts are still wary, still studying and learning all they can.
Researchers have noticed some differences between the A (H1N1) swine flu and the seasonal variety.
- Spreads in the summer months
- Affects mainly older children and young adults
- Affects the body differently – replicates in the lungs and digestive tract
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Obesity May Be A Risk For Severe A (H1N1) Flu Continued…
While the report can support no hard-and-fast conclusion on obesity and swine flu, it does paint an interesting picture of the patient most likely to be severely ill.
It also adds to a pattern doctor’s are seeing in hospitals around the world – a BMI greater than 40 (considered morbidly obese) puts patients at risk for respiratory complications that are very hard to treat.
You can reduce your risks of complications by living a healthy lifestyle – eat healthy, exercise often, don’t smoke, and if you drink do so in moderation.
Anyone who’s overweight or obese and worried about the effects of the flu on their health can look at A (H1N1) as yet another reason to take control of their weight, their health and their life.
To your good health,
Kirsten Whittaker
Daily Health Bulletin Editor
