What question did this study set out to answer?

Examine the relationship between diet quality and COVID-19 severity in hospitalized elderly patients.

April 25, 2026

Symptom Severity and Duration of COVID-19 Are Correlated with the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) Among Hospitalized Elderly Patients.

Key Points

Examine the relationship between diet quality and COVID-19 severity in hospitalized elderly patients.
Analyzed HEI scores in elderly COVID-19 patients
Measured body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and symptom severity
Assessed hospitalization duration and outcomes
Higher HEI scores correlated with increased body weight and BMI
Patients with better diet quality experienced longer hospitalizations
Severe symptoms were associated with improved diet quality, indicating a paradoxical relationship.

Abstract

Our study found that HEI scores in elderly COVID-19 patients were associated with increased body weight, BMI, and waist circumference, as well as more severe symptoms and longer hospitalizations. This "paradoxical relationship" refers to the unexpected association where better diet quality, despite its known benefits for overall health, was linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes, suggesting that diet quality alone may not mitigate the adverse effects of factors such as obesity and metabolic health in this population.

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