Maternal Obesity Modifies the Impact of Active SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Placental Pathology.
Placental ischemic injury lesions occurred 15-fold more often with obesity plus active SARS-CoV-2.
Maternal Obesity Modifies the Impact of Active SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Placental Pathology.
Obesity during pregnancy is associated with an elevated risk of severe COVID-19, including higher rates of maternal complications, intensive care admission, and adverse neonatal outcomes.
To compare the histopathological changes in the placenta induced by active SARS-CoV-2 infection in obese and non-obese patients.
This retrospective cohort study included human placentas from non-obese women and pre-gestationally obese women with active SARS-CoV-2 infection (SARS and OB+SARS, respectively), and placentas from non-obese women and pre-gestationally obese women without SARS-CoV-2 infection (control and OB, collected in the post- and pre-pandemic periods, respectively).
In contrast, a 10% lower risk of developing chorangiosis in the OB+SARS group than the OB group was observed.
An increased risk of lesions related to both maternal and fetal malperfusion and ischemic injury and a lower risk for chorangiosis exist in placentas from obese women affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Importantly, these differences were not observed in placentas from non-obese women.