Habits that make many people more susceptible to severe illness and death from Covid-19

Since the beginning of the greatCovid-19 epidemic, doctors have learned how the SARS-CoV-2 virus affects patients' lungs. Covid-19 is a respiratory disease, so the lungs can be severely affected.

Therefore, there is no doubt that smoking can worsen the situation. Studies have shown that smoking is vulnerable, causing the disease to progress more complicatedly, people with Covid-19 have to be hospitalized, and even die.

Some surveys conducted early in the pandemic have puzzled scientists, finding that regular smokers were underrepresented in hospital admissions for Covid-19.

However, as Covid-19 spreads and becomes more severe, smokers become more susceptible to getting sick and becoming seriously ill.

In a recent study, experts at Oxford University (UK) synthesized observational and genetic data to show that smokers have a significantly higher risk of hospitalization and death from Covid-19 than others.

The results, published in the respiratory journal Thorax, noted that smoking was associated with a 45% higher risk of Covid-19 infection and a 60% higher risk of hospitalisation.

Photo illustration: Regencyhealthcare

For heavy smokers, the risk of Covid-19 infection is twice as high, the risk of hospitalization is 5 times higher, and the risk of death is 10 times higher.

"Our results show that smoking affects the risk of severe Covid-19 disease, just as smoking affects the risk of heart disease and cancer. So now may be a good time to quit," said lead researcher Ashley Clift.

The team analyzed SARS-CoV-2 test results, hospitalization data, and death certificates of 264,000 patients.

Of nearly 14,000 people infected with Covid-19 who smoked, 51 people became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized (equivalent to a rate of 1/270 patients), and 36 people died (a rate of 1/384).

Meanwhile, among 250,000 non-smoking Covid-19 patients, 440 were hospitalized (1/600 rate), and 159 died (1/1666 rate).

vietnamnet.vn