1. Introduction
In December 2019, COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) turned into a pandemic affecting the entire world. By the end of December 2020, the number of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 exceeded 72 million and the number of COVID-19-related deaths exceeded 1.7 million worldwide. Most individuals (81%) infected with SARS-CoV-2 are either asymptomatic or recovered with mild symptoms1. However, advanced age and comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease may lead to pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress symptom (ARDS), and the disease may progress more severely and mortally2,3. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. This new non-infectious disease has become the greatest health hazard in the modern world, along with infectious diseases. Today, more than 1 billion people worldwide are affected by metabolic syndrome4.
Metabolic syndrome is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus, but it is still a matter of debate whether metabolic syndrome as a whole or its individual components increase this risk5. Hypertension and diabetes have been shown to increase mortality in COVID 19 patients, and obesity alone has been identified as an independent risk factor for the development of respiratory failure and increased mortality 2,3,6. However research has shown negative effects of obesity, hypertension and diabetes on mortality and morbidity in COVID 19 patients, studies conducted under the title of metabolic syndrome are limited.
In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of metabolic syndrome on disease course, laboratory values and mortality in inpatients with COVID 19 pneumonia.