Obesity and the presence of asthma are associated with hospitalization due to dengue infection

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Background: Although dengue infections can lead to severe clinical disease sometimes resulting in fatalities, the majority of both primary and secondary dengue infections result in mild/asymptomatic disease that is usually not diagnosed as dengue. Therefore, we proceeded to investigate epidemiological and comorbid risk factors associated with hospitalization when infected with dengue. Methods & Materials: 1689 healthy individuals who were attending the primary health care facility of the university were recruited. Information regarding their co-morbid illnesses ajnd anthropometric measurements were recorded. The dengue antibody status was determined in all individuals. Results: Although 1152/1689 (68.2%) individuals were seropositive for dengue and onlyl33/1152 (11.5%) of them had been hospitalized to due to dengue. We found that obesity (BMI>22.9 in adults and above the 85th percentile BMI for age for children), asthma, allergic rhinitis and a waist circumference of > 80cm in women was significantly associated with increased risk of hospitalization. The association of hospitalization due to dengue and obesity was stronger for females (P< 0.0001, odds ratio=3.33,95% CI = 1.8 to 6.1), when compared to males (p value=0.04, odds ratio=2.2,95% Cl = 1.1 to 4.5). Although female children were significantly more likely (p = 0.006) to be hospitalized due to dengue (odds ratio 2.4, 95% Cl=1.3 to 4.4) when compared to male children, no such association was observed in adults. The presence of diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia or hypertension were not significantly associated with hospitalization due to dengue. Conclusion: Obesity, a high waist circumference in women, asthma and allergic rhinitis appear to be associated with a higher risk of hospitalization when infected with the dengue virus.