Obesity increases hospitalization for dengue in children: study

Could a person’s body mass index affect the severity of dengue infection? Researchers have found a significant link between childhood obesity and an increased likelihood of hospitalization for dengue in a large-scale study.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, hit a record high last year, affecting more than 6.5 million people and causing more than 7,300 deaths worldwide, According to to the World Health Organization. Alarmingly, around 90 percent of those hospitalized are children under the age of five, underscoring the devastating impact of the disease on the youngest and most vulnerable. Cases are expected to break records this year, with 10 million cases reported by the end of June.

Studies have shown that obesity and diabetes, which are on the rise in many countries, are known risk factors for people with dengue. However, the researchers point out that there is narrow data on whether these conditions lead to more dengue-related hospitalizations.

“With obesity on the rise in many countries, it is crucial to raise awareness and educate the public about the potential dangers of obesity and the risk of severe disease and hospitalization due to dengue,” said co-author Neelika Malavige of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka in the paper. Press Release.

“It’s definitely crucial to investigate whether obesity, diabetes and metabolic disease lead to more symptomatic disease as well as increased hospitalizations,” Malavige said.

To investigate the association of obesity with dengue hospitalization rates, researchers assessed 4,782 children aged 10 to 18 from nine districts in Sri Lanka. The study looked at details of their cases, including dengue hospitalizations and body mass index.

“We found that BMI in the 50th to 85th percentile and BMI >97th percentile were significantly associated with hospitalization rates compared with children in other BMI categories, which should be further investigated in long-term prospective studies,” the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease.

Rapid growth dengue cases worldwide is due to the intensive circulation of multiple strains of dengue virus. This raise is attributed to rapid urbanization, population growth, rising global temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, which create favorable conditions for mosquito breeding and virus transmission.