The Role of Nutrition in the COVID-19 Pandemic
The current review aims to summarize the complex relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and nutritional status and the effects of malnutrition in terms of disease severity, patients’ recovery time, incidence of complications and mortality rate.
In COVID-19, this relationship has shown to be crucial across the disease phases, particularly in people at risk for a poor prognosis, including obese, undernourished, and older patients. Malnutrition is largely recognized to be both a cause and a consequence of immune system dysfunction.
The discussion of the most recent pertinent literature aims to lay the foundations for making reasonable assumptions and evaluations for a nutritional “best practice” against COVID-19 pandemic and for the definition of sound cost-effective strategies to assist healthcare systems in managing patients and individuals in their recovery from COVID-19.
According to ESPEN recommendations, programs addressing the care of COVID- 19 patients should integrate nutritional screening, assessment, and therapy. Underfeeding in individuals with COVID-19 should be carefully avoided, and ad hoc nutrition protocols and practical indications should be largely adopted in hospitals.
Article details:
- Title: The Role of Nutrition in the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Authors: Maria Chiara Mentella, Franco Scaldaferri, Antonio Gasbarrini, Giacinto Abele Donato Miggiano
- Published in: Nutrients 2021 Mar 27 13(4):1093
- Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041093
