Analysis of the Impact of Dietary Elements on National COVID-19 Confirmation Rates

Abstract

This work focuses on using the relationship between different diets and the confirmed infection rates of different countries to try and discover other factors that might affect the confirmation rate. Firstly, data on the percentage caloric intake of various countries and their respective COVID-19 confirmation rates were analyzed using BMA variable selections to isolate specific elements of interest. Miscellaneous, stimulants, and obesity were found to have significant correlations with confirmation rate - the first two of which referred to baby food and caffeine, specifically, and the last despite something of interest despite no correlation between it and other food types. Baby food was found to be positively correlated with the percentage child population of a country, and both were found to be associated with lower confirmation rates; as such, baby food is unlikely to be an originating factor. Caffeine consumption may be a factor as it is associated with all-cause mortality in existing literature, but with GDP as a confounding variable, more study is required. Obesity was confirmed to be related to increased COVID-19 confirmation rates, but no relation between obesity and COVID was found between those and any food group. Ultimately some country selection or a study based on a homogeneous group of individuals may be necessary to isolate confounding variables and reach a meaningful conclusion.