NEW DELHI: Tobacco use is linked with greater severity of Covid-19 infection and post-Covid complications, the study from AIIMS and NIMHANS has found. The study said that among young adults with a high smoking prevalence, the Covid outcome appears to be worse.
It also found that heart and mental health problems were the major new-onset health complications reported after recovering from Covid-19. In some cases, many reported having more than one new onset health problem following the infection.
The study, which was published in the Social Science Research Network, said that while the prevalence of tobacco use among Covid-19 patients is comparable to the general population, a quarter of users quit tobacco following Covid-19.
“The study strengthens the idea that tobacco use is associated with greater severity of COVID-19 infection and post-COVID-19 complications,” the study said. As tobacco use increases pre-existing cardiovascular morbidity, there is a higher risk of post-Covid-19 complications among tobacco users, it added.
It suggested that intense public health interventions are required to prevent tobacco use and improve quit rates for future Covid-19 waves or similar pandemics. “Our study further fortifies the evidence against the “smokers paradox” (smokers are protected against infection and complications),” said the study, which was conducted in Karnataka, by experts from AIIMS, Deoghar, Jharkhand, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, and National Tobacco Control Program, Karnataka, among others.
The study, which wanted to assess and compare the severity of Covid-19 illness and post-Covid-19 complications between tobacco users and non-users, was conducted among patients who tested positive for Covid-19 from March 2020 to December 2021. The study was conducted in two phases. The first was done via text messages among 1938 patients; in the second phase, telephone-based surveys were carried out among 902 people.
It was found that the prevalence of lifetime tobacco use among patients with Covid-19 was 19% (in the second phase) and 25 % (in the first phase) Of the 1938 people, 1498 men (78.3%), 439 (22.6%) women and one transgender person were interviewed in the first phase, and most of the people were under 31- 40 years. In the second phase, of the 902 people, 675 males, 226 females, and one patient, who identified as transgender, were interviewed.
As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2016-17, 28.6 per cent of the Indian population uses tobacco.
Evidence suggests that smoking is an independent risk factor associated with an increased mortality risk among Covid-19 patients and is a significant risk factor for the progression of Covid-19. Covid-19 outcome appears to be worse among young adults with a high smoking prevalence
Meanwhile. India saw a single-day rise of 5,874 new coronavirus cases, while the active case count dropped to 49,015 according to the Union Health Ministry data said on Sunday. The death toll from the pandemic has increased to 5,31,533 with 25 deaths, which includes nine reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 3.31 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 4.25 per cent. The COVID-19 tally was recorded at 4.49 crore The active cases now comprise 0.11 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.71 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease went up to 4,43,64,841 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.