Non-White Ethnicity, Male Sex, And Higher Body Mass Index, But Not Medications Acting On The Renin-Angiotensin System Are Associated With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Hospitalisation: Review Of The First 669 Cases From The UK Biobank

BackgroundCardiometabolic morbidity and medications, specifically Angiotensin Converting Enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs), have been linked with adverse outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aims to investigate factors associated with COVID-19 positivity for the first 669 UK Biobank participants; compared with individuals who tested negative, and with the untested, presumed negative, rest of the population. MethodsWe studied 1,474 participants from the UK Biobank who had been tested for COVID-19. Given UK testing policy, this implies a hospital setting, suggesting at least moderate to severe symptoms. We considered the following exposures: age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, ACEi/ARB use, prior myocardial infarction (MI), and smoking. We undertook comparisons between: 1) COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 tested negative participants; and 2) COVID-19 tested positive and the remaining participants (tested negative plus untested, n=501,837). Logistic regression models were used to investigate univariate and mutually adjusted associations. ResultsAmong participants tested for COVID-19, non-white ethnicity, male sex, and greater BMI were independently associated with COVID-19 positive result. Non-white ethnicity, male sex, greater BMI, diabetes, hypertension, prior MI, and smoking were independently associated with COVID-19 positivity compared to the remining cohort (test negatives plus untested). However, similar associations were observed when comparing those who tested negative for COVID-19 with the untested cohort; suggesting that these factors associate with general hospitalisation rather than specifically with COVID-19. ConclusionsAmong participants tested for COVID-19 with presumed moderate to severe symptoms in a hospital setting, non-white ethnicity, male sex, and higher BMI are associated with a positive result. Other cardiometabolic morbidities confer increased risk of hospitalisation, without specificity for COVID-19. Notably, ACE/ARB use did not associate with COVID-19 status.