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Effects of obesity on COVID in the 2nd wave of the pandemic (including healthcare costs)

Status

Ongoing

Title

Effects of obesity on COVID in the 2nd wave of the pandemic (including healthcare costs)

What is the aim of the study and why is it important?

It is now established that infection with the coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, does not affect everyone equally, with some prone to get more severe illness, called COVID-19, than others. We have previously shown, using data from the first wave of the pandemic that being overweight is one of the factors that increases the risk of developing severe disease, defined as greater risk of hospitalisation, admission to ICU and death from COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of society. Most countries have aimed to halt the spread of the virus by restricting social interactions, resulting in nationwide lockdowns, with significant decreases in nations’ economic productivity.
Although we have a clearer picture of individual characteristics that may increase susceptibility to severe COVID-19, the healthcare costs of treating patients who get COVID-19 have received less interest both from the research community and media outlets.
To deliver affordable and effective care systems during the current pandemic, and in the future, we need a comprehensive estimation of the costs of care.

The aim of this study is to work out the cost of treating the people hospitalised with COVID-19, and explore if there is an association between excess body weight and treatment costs for COVID-19.

Chief Investigator

Dr Nerys Astbury

Lead Applicant Organisation Name

Sponsor

Oxford

Location of research

University of Oxford

Date on which research approved

08-Feb-2022

Project reference ID

OX141

Generic ethics approval reference

18/EM/0400

Are all data accessed are in anonymised form?

Yes

Brief summary of the dataset to be released (including any sensitive data)

This is a prospective cohort study of patients registered in English general practices linked to data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES).
People registered as patients and aged 18+ years on 1 January 2020 who were registered for the whole of 2019 and remained so until censoring at (Dates TBD); AND with a COVID-19 related admission to hospital.

Public Benefit Statement

Research Team

Dr Nerys Astbury, University of Oxford 

Dr Carmen Piernas-Sanchez, University of Oxford

Professor Susan Jebb, University of Oxford 

Professor Paul Aveyard, University of Oxford 

Dr Jose Leal, University of Oxford 

Professor Phillip Clarke, University of Oxford 

Access Type

Trusted Research Environment (TRE)

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