According to a new study, one in three young adults is vulnerable to severe cases of coronavirus, and smoking plays an important role.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that 32 percent of people ages 18-25 who participated in the study were “medically vulnerable” to the deadly pandemic, but the number dropped to 16 percent. when cigarette smokers and e-cigarettes were removed from the sample, CNN reported Monday.
“Recent evidence indicates that smoking is associated with an increased likelihood of COVID-19 progression, including increased severity of illness, admission to the ICU, or death,” said researcher Sally Adams, lead author of the study. . “Smoking can have significant effects in young adults, who generally have low rates of most chronic diseases.”
More than 8,000 young adults participated in the National Survey of Health Interviews for the study, which sought to assess their vulnerability to the virus.
One in 10 of the participants had smoked cigarettes within 30 days, and one in 14 had smoked electronic cigarettes during that time, the outlet said.
Although more women in the study reported having asthma or immune conditions, the highest rate of men who smoked showed they were more vulnerable to the virus, although women were more at risk among nonsmokers, according to the study.
A surprising finding in the study was that whites had the highest vulnerability, contradicting research that racial and ethnic minorities had a higher coronavirus death rate than other groups.
“Our finding of less racial / ethnic minority medical vulnerability compared to the white subgroup, despite controlling for income and insurance status, was unexpected,” the study said.
“It is also inconsistent with research showing higher morbidity and mortality rates for COVID-19 and other chronic diseases among racial / ethnic minorities, specific to an age group.
“This suggests that other factors in addition to the CDC medical vulnerability criteria play a role in the risk of serious COVID-19 disease in the young adult population.”
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