Smokers at Higher Risk if Infected with COVID-19: "14 Times Greater Risk of Severe Symptoms Compared to Non-Smokers"

▲Thirdhand smoke.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Hee-eun Park] A study has revealed that smokers infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are more likely to experience severe conditions compared to non-smokers.

A study from China also reported that the risk for smokers is nearly 14 times higher than that of non-smokers.

According to the latest issue of The FEBS Journal on the 22nd, a research team from the School of Public Policy at George Mason University in the United States stated that nicotine, the main harmful component of tobacco, directly affects the body's receptor (ACE2) that binds with the COVID-19 virus.

They also revealed that nicotine, the main component of tobacco, can induce harmful signal transduction in lung epithelial cells. This led the research team to analyze that smokers infected with COVID-19 are more vulnerable than non-smokers.

Furthermore, the research team mentioned that based on previous studies, smoking is closely related to the high mortality rates observed in infectious diseases such as influenza and respiratory viral infections.

The team predicted that the COVID-19 virus also negatively affects the expression of the ACE2 protein, which plays an important role in cellular signal transduction. This implies that cardiovascular, pulmonary, and immune system functions of smokers infected with COVID-19 worsen further.

Additionally, they pointed out that toxins other than nicotine found in tobacco (such as carbon monoxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) can also exacerbate the condition of COVID-19 patients.

The finding that smoking adversely affects COVID-19 patients was also confirmed in a Chinese research team's paper.

In a recent issue of the Chinese Medical Journal, a research team from Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, conducted an experiment dividing 78 COVID-19 patients under treatment into a worsening group (11 patients) and an improving group (67 patients). The results showed that smokers had a 14.3 times higher risk of COVID-19 worsening.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.