Obesity may contribute to swine-flu severity

WASHINGTON — A survey of people hospitalized because of swine flu in California has raised the possibility that obesity is as much of a risk factor for serious complications from flu as diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy, all known to raise a person's risk.

In all, about two-thirds of the California patients had some underlying medical condition, according to a report Tuesday in the weekly bulletin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, 48 states have reported 5,469 cases and six U.S. deaths since the start of the outbreak in late April, according to CDC's count.

"We were surprised by the frequency of obesity among the severe cases that we've been tracking," said Anne Schuchat, one of the CDC epidemiologists managing the swine-flu outbreak.

She said "we're looking into" the possibility that obese people should be at the head of the line along with other high-risk groups if a swine-flu vaccine becomes available.

Some other studies have shown that pregnant women are also at higher risk for serious influenza infection, especially in the third trimester when the fetus and womb compress the lower regions of the lungs. This makes it harder to breathe deeply and cough forcefully; it may also alter blood flow in the chest. A similar thing may be occurring in severely overweight people, some experts speculated.

The average age of the 30 Californians hospitalized for swine flu was 27.5 years. Nearly three-quarters were women and 65 percent were Hispanic. Half lived in two counties bordering Mexico.

Of the 30 people, 11 had a lung ailment such as asthma or emphysema, six had an immune disorder, five had heart disease, five were pregnant, four had diabetes and four were obese.