Association Between COVID-19 Vaccination, Obesity, and Symptom Burden in a Mexican Population: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Background This study aimed to evaluate the association between the presence of COVID-19 symptomatology (quantified as total self-reported symptom count and validated by medical personnel) and obesity in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during the epidemiological period from July to December 2021. Methods A retrospective, cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted using data from 2,008 adults with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection identified during COVID-19 detection campaigns in multiple municipalities of Oaxaca, Mexico, between July and December 2021. Data on age, sex, body mass index (BMI) category, vaccination status, vaccine type, and reported symptoms were analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by rapid antigen testing followed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The primary outcome was the total number of self-reported symptoms at diagnosis. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc testing (p