Serum levels of ACE2 are higher in patients with obesity and diabetes

OBJECTIVE: As severity of outcome in COVID‐19 is disproportionately higher among individuals with obesity, smokers, patients with hypertension, kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease (CHD), and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D), serum levels of ACE2, the cellular entry point for th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Obesity Science & Practice
Main Authors: Emilsson, Valur, Gudmundsson, Elias F., Aspelund, Thor, Jonsson, Brynjolfur G., Gudjonsson, Alexander, Launer, Lenore J., Lamb, John R., Gudmundsdottir, Valborg, Jennings, Lori L., Gudnason, Vilmundur
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2020
Subjects:
Short Communication
Reykjavík
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8019273/
https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.472
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE: As severity of outcome in COVID‐19 is disproportionately higher among individuals with obesity, smokers, patients with hypertension, kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease (CHD), and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D), serum levels of ACE2, the cellular entry point for the coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, were examined in these high‐risk groups. METHODS: Associations of ACE2 levels to smokers and patients with hypertension, T2D, obesity, CHD, or COPD were investigated in a single center population‐based study of 5457 Icelanders from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Reykjavík Study (AGES‐RS) of the elderly (mean age 75 ± 6 years), using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Serum levels of ACE2 were higher in smokers and individuals with T2D and/or obesity while they were unaffected in the other patient groups. CONCLUSION: ACE2 levels are higher in some patient groups with comorbidities linked to COVID‐19 including obesity and T2D and as such may have an emerging role as a circulating biomarker for severity of outcome in the disease.

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