Story at a glance
- Researchers used data on U.S. adults from 107 hospitals across the country who were hospitalized with COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2021 from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 CVD Registry.
- Researchers found that people who reported smoking were 45 percent more likely to die and 39 percent more likely to be put on ventilators when compared to nonsmokers.
- Further, smoking was linked to greater risk factor for death in people between 18 to 59 years of age and those who were white or obese.
Patients who reported smoking or vaping prior to COVID-19 hospitalization were more likely to experience severe complications, including death, than nonsmokers, according to a new study.
“In general, people who smoke or vape tend to have a higher prevalence of other health conditions and risk factors that could play a role in how they are impacted by COVID-19,” the study’s senior author Aruni Bhatnagar said in a news release.
“However, the robust and significant increase in the risk of severe COVID-19 seen in our study, independent of medical history and medication use and particularly among young individuals, underscores the urgent need for extensive public health interventions such as anti-smoking campaigns and increased access to cessation therapy, especially in the age of COVID,” Bhatnagar added.
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For the study, researchers used data on U.S. adults from 107 hospitals across the country who were hospitalized with COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2021 from the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 CVD Registry. The study’s findings were independent of age, sex, race or medical history.
Smoking status, which did not distinguish between vaping and traditional cigarettes, was self-reported. The researchers’ final analysis of more than 4,000 people consisted of a 1-2 ratio of people who smoked and those who did not.
Researchers found that people who reported smoking were 45 percent more likely to die and 39 percent more likely to be put on ventilators when compared to nonsmokers. Further, smoking was linked to greater risk factor for death in people between 18 to 59 years of age and those who were white or obese.
More than 160 hospitals provided data on more than 79,000 patient records between 2020 and June 2022 for the AHA’s registry.
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