1. Impact of Smoking on COVID-19 Symptoms in Non-Vaccinated Patients: A Matched Observational Study from Qatar
- Author
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Mohammad Z Haider, Amna Al-Mannai, Sally Al-Sirhan, Ahmed Elsabagh, Nasser Nasser, Noora Al-Quraishi, Amr Ouda, Khadija Erradi, Anas A Ashour, Ishita Gupta, Jazeel Abdulmajeed, Hamad E Al-Romaihi, Devendra Bansal, Omran AH Musa, Elmoubasher Abu Baker Abd Farag, Mohammed HJ Al-Thani, and Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa
- Subjects
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) ,Chalcone ,Nitrogen mustard ,Methoxy ,Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare ,General Medicine ,abdominal pain ,adult ,Article ,chill ,comorbidity ,comparative study ,coronavirus disease 2019 ,coughing ,cross-sectional study ,disease association ,female ,fever ,headache ,human ,major clinical study ,male ,miscellaneous named groups ,myalgia ,non vaccinated patient ,observational study ,Qatar ,smoking ,smoking cessation ,sore throat ,General Nursing ,Analogs ,Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) - Abstract
Mohammad Z Haider,1 Amna Al-Mannai,1 Sally Al-Sirhan,1 Ahmed Elsabagh,1 Nasser Nasser,1 Noora Al-Quraishi,1 Amr Ouda,1 Khadija Erradi,1 Anas A Ashour,2 Ishita Gupta,1,3 Jazeel Abdulmajeed,4 Hamad E Al-Romaihi,4 Devendra Bansal,4 Omran AH Musa,4 Elmoubasher Abu Baker Abd Farag,4 Mohammed HJ Al-Thani,4 Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa1,3,5 1College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 3Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Unit, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar; 4Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar; 5Biomedical Research Centre, Qatar University, Doha, QatarCorrespondence: Ala-Eddin Al Moustafa, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar, Tel +974 4403 7817, Fax +974 4403-3333, Email aalmoustafa@qu.edu.qaPurpose: Predisposition to acute illness from COVID-19 is suggested to correlate with cigarette smoking as it augments the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, including infections. However, the effects of smoking on COVID-19 symptoms are not well described and controversial. In this study, we aim to explore the associations between smoking and COVID-19 symptoms.Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study using the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), Qatar database was administered to a Qatari population with confirmed COVID-19 disease who filled in pre-defined phone-call questionnaire between 27th February 2020 and 31st December 2020. We analyzed 11,701 non-vaccinated COVID-19 individuals (2952 smokers and 8749 non-smokers) with confirmed RT-PCR test results. The association of smoking and the presence of symptoms as well as patient characteristics was calculated using Pearsonâs Chi-square and Fisherâs exact tests, adjusting for potential covariates.Results: Compared with the non-smokers, symptomatic COVID-19 infection is significantly higher in smokers. In addition, we found fever as the most common symptom developed in COVID-19 patients followed by cough, headache, muscle ache, and sore throat. As compared to other symptoms, association of smoking with chills and abdominal pain was less evident (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively). However, both groups showed similar rates of developing cough.Conclusion: In conclusion, smoking is associated with COVID-19 symptoms frequency in non-vaccinated patients; nevertheless, further investigations are necessary to understand the mechanism of this association which could generate new targets for the management of COVID-19 in smoker patients.Keywords: COVID-19, smoking, frequency, Qatar, symptoms
- Published
- 2022