High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients.
<h4>Background</h4>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions of lives globally. However, the disease has presented more extreme challenges for developing countries that are experiencing economic crises. Studies on COVID-19 symptoms and gut health are scarce and have not f...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258913 |
| _version_ | 1819004989894295552 |
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| author | Imad Al Kassaa Sarah El Omari Nada Abbas Nicolas Papon Djamel Drider Issmat I Kassem Marwan Osman |
| author_facet | Imad Al Kassaa Sarah El Omari Nada Abbas Nicolas Papon Djamel Drider Issmat I Kassem Marwan Osman |
| author_sort | Imad Al Kassaa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions of lives globally. However, the disease has presented more extreme challenges for developing countries that are experiencing economic crises. Studies on COVID-19 symptoms and gut health are scarce and have not fully analyzed possible associations between gut health and disease pathophysiology. Therefore, this study aimed to demonstrate a potential association between gut health and COVID-19 severity in the Lebanese community, which has been experiencing a severe economic crisis.<h4>Methods</h4>This cross-sectional study investigated SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive Lebanese patients. Participants were interviewed and gut health, COVID-19 symptoms, and different metrics were analyzed using simple and multiple logistic regression models.<h4>Results</h4>Analysis of the data showed that 25% of participants were asymptomatic, while an equal proportion experienced severe symptoms, including dyspnea (22.7%), oxygen need (7.5%), and hospitalization (3.1%). The mean age of the participants was 38.3 ±0.8 years, and the majority were males (63.9%), married (68.2%), and currently employed (66.7%). A negative correlation was found between gut health score and COVID-19 symptoms (Kendall's tau-b = -0.153, P = 0.004); indicating that low gut health was associated with more severe COVID-19 cases. Additionally, participants who reported unhealthy food intake were more likely to experience severe symptoms (Kendall's tau-b = 0.118, P = 0.049). When all items were taken into consideration, multiple ordinal logistic regression models showed a significant association between COVID-19 symptoms and each of the following variables: working status, flu-like illness episodes, and gut health score. COVID-19 severe symptoms were more common among patients having poor gut health scores (OR:1.31, 95%CI:1.07-1.61; P = 0.008), experiencing more than one episode of flu-like illness per year (OR:2.85, 95%CI:1.58-5.15; P = 0.001), and owning a job (OR:2.00, 95%CI:1.1-3.65; P = 0.023).<h4>Conclusions</h4>To our knowledge, this is the first study that showed the impact of gut health and exposure to respiratory viruses on COVID-19 severity in Lebanon. These findings can facilitate combating the pandemic in Lebanon. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T23:45:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6448e246eb84b83b375bcdffcf81a49 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T23:45:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6448e246eb84b83b375bcdffcf81a492022-12-21T19:22:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-011610e025891310.1371/journal.pone.0258913High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients.Imad Al KassaaSarah El OmariNada AbbasNicolas PaponDjamel DriderIssmat I KassemMarwan Osman<h4>Background</h4>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected millions of lives globally. However, the disease has presented more extreme challenges for developing countries that are experiencing economic crises. Studies on COVID-19 symptoms and gut health are scarce and have not fully analyzed possible associations between gut health and disease pathophysiology. Therefore, this study aimed to demonstrate a potential association between gut health and COVID-19 severity in the Lebanese community, which has been experiencing a severe economic crisis.<h4>Methods</h4>This cross-sectional study investigated SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive Lebanese patients. Participants were interviewed and gut health, COVID-19 symptoms, and different metrics were analyzed using simple and multiple logistic regression models.<h4>Results</h4>Analysis of the data showed that 25% of participants were asymptomatic, while an equal proportion experienced severe symptoms, including dyspnea (22.7%), oxygen need (7.5%), and hospitalization (3.1%). The mean age of the participants was 38.3 ±0.8 years, and the majority were males (63.9%), married (68.2%), and currently employed (66.7%). A negative correlation was found between gut health score and COVID-19 symptoms (Kendall's tau-b = -0.153, P = 0.004); indicating that low gut health was associated with more severe COVID-19 cases. Additionally, participants who reported unhealthy food intake were more likely to experience severe symptoms (Kendall's tau-b = 0.118, P = 0.049). When all items were taken into consideration, multiple ordinal logistic regression models showed a significant association between COVID-19 symptoms and each of the following variables: working status, flu-like illness episodes, and gut health score. COVID-19 severe symptoms were more common among patients having poor gut health scores (OR:1.31, 95%CI:1.07-1.61; P = 0.008), experiencing more than one episode of flu-like illness per year (OR:2.85, 95%CI:1.58-5.15; P = 0.001), and owning a job (OR:2.00, 95%CI:1.1-3.65; P = 0.023).<h4>Conclusions</h4>To our knowledge, this is the first study that showed the impact of gut health and exposure to respiratory viruses on COVID-19 severity in Lebanon. These findings can facilitate combating the pandemic in Lebanon.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258913 |
| spellingShingle | Imad Al Kassaa Sarah El Omari Nada Abbas Nicolas Papon Djamel Drider Issmat I Kassem Marwan Osman High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients. PLoS ONE |
| title | High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients. |
| title_full | High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients. |
| title_fullStr | High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients. |
| title_full_unstemmed | High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients. |
| title_short | High association of COVID-19 severity with poor gut health score in Lebanese patients. |
| title_sort | high association of covid 19 severity with poor gut health score in lebanese patients |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258913 |
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