Association between lung opacities and visceral fat in COVID-19 patients

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between the amount of the epigastric visceral fat area and the severity of pneumonia in the course of COVID-19 using chest computed tomography (CT) examinations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 177 patients (54 female), with COVID-19 infection were included. A routine chest CT was performed to assess the severity of pneumonia. The affected lung tissue as well as semi-quantitative scales such as the Chest CT Score and Total Opacity Score were calculated using SyngoVia VB30A CT Pneumonia Analysis software. The epigastric region area of visceral fat (L1) was also determined. RESULTS: The mean value of the visceral adipose tissue area was 196.23 ± 101.36 cm(2). The area of adipose tissue significantly correlated with the percentage of the affected lung tissue (r = 0.1476; p = 0.050), the Chest CT Score (r = 0.2086; p = 0.005), and the Total Opacity Score (r = 0.1744; p = 0.200). The mean area of adipose tissue in the age group ≥ 65 years was 216.13 ± 105.19 cm(2), while in the group < 65 years, it was 169.18 ± 89.69 cm(2). This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The study showed a relationship between the area of visceral adipose tissue and the degree of lung inflammation in COVID-19 disease in patients under 65 years of age.