Can a person's body mass index influence the severity of dengue infection? Researchers have uncovered a significant link between obesity in children and increased likelihood of hospitalization due to dengue in a large-scale study.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral illness, reached a record high last year, impacting over 6.5 million people and causing more than 7,300 deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization. Alarmingly, around 90 percent of those hospitalized were children under five, underscoring the devastating impact of this disease on the youngest and most vulnerable. This year, the cases are again expected to break records, with 10 million cases already reported by the end of June.

Studies have shown that obesity and diabetes, both of which are increasing in many countries, are known risk factors for people affected by dengue. However, researchers point out that there is limited data on whether these conditions lead to more dengue-related hospitalizations.

"With the increase in obesity in many countries, it would be important to create awareness and educate the public of the potential risks regarding obesity and risk of severe disease and hospitalization from dengue," co-author, Neelika Malavige, from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, said in a news release.

"It definitely is important to study if obesity, diabetes, and metabolic diseases lead to more symptomatic illness and also increase in hospitalizations," Malavige said.

To examine the association of obesity with hospitalization rates for dengue, the researchers evaluated 4,782 children between the ages of 10 and 18 years from 9 districts in Sri Lanka. The study looked into their case details, including hospitalizations due to dengue and body mass index.

"We found that BMI centiles 50th to 85th and BMI centile of >97th were significantly associated with hospitalization rates when compared to children in other BMI categories, which should be further investigated in longitudinal prospective studies," the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease.

The rapid rise in dengue cases worldwide is driven by the intense circulation of multiple dengue virus strains. This surge is attributed to rapid urbanization, population growth, increasing global temperatures, and erratic rainfall patterns, creating conducive conditions for mosquito breeding and virus transmission.

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