Usefulness of the C2HEST score in predicting the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in obese and non-obese cohorts - subanalysis of the COLOS Study

Cardiovascular risk factors, particularly obesity, are strong predictors of poor COVID-19 outcomes, though prognosis remains uncertain for overweight individuals. Identifying new tools to assess obesity's impact on COVID-19 severity is vital for early risk stratification. We evaluated the C 2 HEST-score system's ability to predict unfavorable outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Consecutive 2,183 patients hospitalized due to confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled to this study. Based on the physical examination and past medical history, 332 carefully selected patients were assigned to one of two of the study cohorts, i.e. obese (n=191) vs. non-obese (n=141), and allocated to different risk-strata based on the C 2 HEST score result. A total of 52 in-hospital deaths (27.2%) were reported in the obese cohort, while in the non-obese cohort the in-hospital mortality rate was 17% (24 reported cases). The in-hospital, 3-month and 6-month mortality were the highest in the high-risk C 2 HEST stratum in both study cohorts, reaching respectively 47.62%, 57.14%, and 57.14% in the obese and 63.64%, 72.73%, and 88.89% in the non-obese cohorts. Among patients with the high-risk C 2 HEST-score, non-obese individuals were more likely to experience myocardial injury and acute heart failure, whereas obese individuals were more prone to develop acute kidney injury. This study shows the usefulness and performance of the C 2 HEST-score in predicting the adverse outcomes of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with obesity. In the cohort with normal body mass, the C 2 HEST score revealed to be far more precise in the risk prediction.