One in three young adults may face severe COVID-19, study shows
Science Daily
Smoking habits trump asthma, obesity in risk factors for otherwise healthy population
Date:July 13, 2020
Source:University of California - San Francisco
As the number of young adults infected with the coronavirus surges throughout the nation, a new study indicates that youth may not shield people from serious disease...a new study by researchers at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital...looked at data drawn from a nationally representative sample of approximately 8,400 men and women ages 18 to 25 and concluded that overall "medical vulnerability" was 33 percent for males and 30 percent for females. The impact of smoking surpassed other less common risks, the UCSF researchers reported in their study, which publishes in the Journal of Adolescent Health on July 13, 2020.
The researchers, led by first author Sally Adams, PhD, of the UCSF Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, determined vulnerability by referencing indicators identified by the CDC. These included heart conditions, diabetes, current asthma, immune conditions (such as lupus, gout, rheumatoid arthritis), liver conditions, obesity and smoking within the previous 30 days. Additionally, the researchers added e-cigarettes to tobacco and cigar use, which the CDC had included, stating that all three were associated with adverse effects on respiratory and immune function.
Smoking Linked to Progression of COVID-19
"Recent evidence indicates that smoking is associated with a higher likelihood of COVID-19 progression, including increased illness severity, ICU admission or death," said Adams. "Smoking may have significant effects in young adults, who typically have low rates for most chronic diseases."
... The risk of being medically vulnerable to severe disease is halved when smokers are removed from the sample," said senior author Charles Irwin Jr., MD, of the UCSF Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. "Efforts to reduce smoking and e-cigarette use among young adults would likely lower their vulnerability to severe disease."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200713104344.htm
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