Gut microbiota in a population highly affected by obesity and type 2 diabetes and susceptibility to COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease produced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and it is currently causing a catastrophic pandemic affecting humans worldwide. This disease has been lethal for approximately 3.12 million people around the world since January 2020. Globally, among the most affected countries, Mexico ranks third in deaths after the United States of America and Brazil. Although the high number of deceased people might also be explained by social aspects and lifestyle customs in Mexico, there is a relationship between this high proportion of deaths and comorbidities such as high blood pressure (HBP), type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. The official epidemiological figures reported by the Mexican government have indicated that 18.4% of the population suffers from HBP, close to 10.3% of adults suffer from type 2 diabetes, and approximately 36.1% of the population suffers from obesity. Disbalances in the gut microbiota (GM) have been associated with these diseases and with COVID-19 severity, presumably due to inflammatory dysfunction. Recent data about the association between GM dysbiosis and metabolic diseases could suggest that the high levels of susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 morbidity in the Mexican population are primarily due to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

Keywords: COVID-19; Gut microbiota; High blood pressure; Hypertension; Immunity; Metabolic syndrome; Obesity; SARS-CoV-2; Type 2 diabetes.