Scientists at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States have found that cumulative exposure to cigarette smoke is a high risk factor for hospitalization, complications and death from COVID-19. This is reported in an article published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Briefly about the scientific work is described in the press release on MedicalXpress.
Researchers assessed the link between long-term smoking and the effects of coronavirus in 7,102 patients. 84.8 percent had never smoked, 12.8 percent were former smokers, and 2.4 percent continued to smoke. It turned out that those who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years had a 2.25 times higher chance of hospitalization and a 1.89 times higher risk of death.
At the same time, this connection is partly due to the influence of diseases that often develop in smokers, including problems with the cardiovascular system and dysfunctions of the respiratory system. Moreover, similar results are observed not only among those who continue to smoke, but also among former smokers.
According to scientists, the study results show a lack of an approach that treats former smokers on an equal basis with those who have never smoked.