Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease is associated with severity of COVID-19
Yu-Jie Zhou and Kenneth I. Zheng are co-first authors.
Funding information
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81500665), funding of the Ruian Science and Technology Bureau (2020023), High Level Creative Talents from Department of Public Health in Zhejiang Province and Project of New Century 551 Talent Nurturing in Wenzhou.
Handling Editor: Jian Sun
Abstract
The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has attracted increasing worldwide attention. While metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) affects a quarter of world population, its impact on COVID-19 severity has not been characterized. We identified 55 MAFLD patients with COVID-19, who were 1:1 matched by age, sex and obesity status to non-aged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected patients without MAFLD. Our results demonstrate that in patients aged less than 60 years with COVID-19, MAFLD is associated with an approximately fourfold increase (adjusted odds ratio 4.07, 95% confidence interval 1.20-13.79, P = .02) in the probability for severe disease, after adjusting for confounders. Healthcare professionals caring for patients with COVID-19 need to be aware that there is a positive association between MAFLD and severe illness with COVID-19.
