ArticleInfluenza and other respiratory viruses2013
Relationship between community prevalence of obesity and associated behavioral factors and community rates of influenza-related hospitalizations in the United States.
Article in Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Obesity as a risk factor for severe influenza infection in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Pooled it
- Obesity Increases the Severity and Mortality of Influenza and COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Pooled it
- Immune Consequences of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Treatment: A Cytokine Perspective.Immunology · 2026Article
- Weight Loss-Associated Remodeling of Adipose Tissue Immunometabolism.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Review
- Plant-Based Diets and Risk of Hospitalization with Respiratory Infection: Results from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Obesity, a major risk factor for immunity and severe outcomes of COVID-19.Bioscience reports · 2021Review
- Association of Food Intake Quality with Vitamin D in SARS-CoV-2 Positive Patients from Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Coronavirus disease-2019: A tocsin to our aging, unfit, corpulent, and immunodeficient society.Journal of sport and health science · 2020Review
- The Relevance of Complementary and Integrative Medicine in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Review of the Literature.Frontiers in medicine · 2020Review
- Underweight, overweight, and obesity as independent risk factors for hospitalization in adults and children from influenza and other respiratory viruses.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2019Observational
- Investigating obesity as a risk factor for influenza-like illness during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic using the Health Survey for England.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2017Article
- Impact of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome on Immunity.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2016Review
- Socioeconomic Disparities and Influenza Hospitalizations, Tennessee, USA.Emerging infectious diseases · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFindings from studies examining the association between obesity and acute respiratory infection are inconsistent. Few studies have assessed the relationship between obesity-related behavioral factors, such as diet and exercise, and risk of acute respiratory infection.
objectiveTo determine whether community prevalence of obesity, low fruit/vegetable consumption, and physical inactivity are associated with influenza-related hospitalization rates.
methodsUsing data from 274 US counties, from 2002 to 2008, we regressed county influenza-related hospitalization rates on county prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30), low fruit/vegetable consumption (<5 servings/day), and physical inactivity (<30 minutes/month recreational exercise), while adjusting for community-level confounders such as insurance coverage and the number of primary care physicians per 100,000 population.
resultsA 5% increase in obesity prevalence was associated with a 12% increase in influenza-related hospitalization rates [adjusted rate ratio (ARR) 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07, 1.17]. Similarly, a 5% increase in the prevalence of low fruit/vegetable consumption and physical inactivity was associated with an increase of 12% (ARR 1.12, 95% CI 1.08, 1.17) and 11% (ARR 1.11, 95% CI 1.07, 1.16), respectively. When all three variables were included in the same model, a 5% increase in prevalence of obesity, low fruit/vegetable consumption, and physical inactivity was associated with 6%, 8%, and 7% increases in influenza-related hospitalization rates, respectively.
conclusionsCommunities with a greater prevalence of obesity were more likely to have high influenza-related hospitalization rates. Similarly, less physically active populations, with lower fruit/vegetable consumption, tended to have higher influenza-related hospitalization rates, even after accounting for obesity.
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