The data of new scientific studies show that smokers are more susceptible to coronavirus infection than the non-smoking part of humanity. According to the results of the risk of severe disease in smokers 60-80% higher than in non-smoking. In addition, the likelihood of death for smokers is high. Results of scientific research of British specialists are published in The Guardian.
Dr. Ashley Clift from Oxford University and his colleagues used medical records of therapists, test results for COVID-19, data on hospitalization and death certificate to identify the connection between smoking and the critical course of the disease from COVID-19. Data taken for the period from January to August 2020 in 421 thousand 469 participants of the so-called British Bobank.
For research E. Clift and his team used a method called Mendel randomization, which uses genetic options as substituents for a certain factor.
“This study strengthens our confidence that smoking tobacco does not protect from COVID-19, since Mendel randomizational analysis is less prone to distortion than previous observational research,” wrote Dr. Anthony Laverti and Professor Christopher Millett from the Imperial College of London in Editorial Panel published in Thorax magazine.