ArticlePloS one2021
Questioning the sex-specific differences in the association of smoking on the survival rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Severe Malnutrition Identified by the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score Is Associated With Prolonged Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Stay in Pneumonia Complicated With Respiratory Failure Patients Who Underwent Invasive Mechanical Ventilation.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2025Article
- Understanding sex and gender disparities in COVID-19 mortality: a narrative review beyond biology.Biology of sex differences · 2025Review
- A Complex Interplay: Navigating the Crossroads of Tobacco Use, Cardiovascular Disease, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A WHF Policy Brief.Global heart · 2024Review
- Smoking status and SARS-CoV-2 infection severity among Lebanese adults: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Complications Post-COVID-19 and Risk Factors among Patients after Six Months of a SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Triple jeopardy in ageing: COVID-19, co-morbidities and inflamm-ageing.Ageing research reviews · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
introductionIn the absence of a universally accepted association between smoking and COVID-19 health outcomes, we investigated this relationship in a representative cohort from one of the world's highest tobacco consuming regions. This is the first report from the Middle East and North Africa that tackles specifically the association of smoking and COVID-19 mortality while demonstrating a novel sex-discrepancy in the survival rates among patients.
methodsClinical data for 743 hospitalized COVID-19 patients was retrospectively collected from the leading centre for COVID-19 testing and treatment in Lebanon. Logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age and stratified by sex were used to assess the association between the current cigarette smoking status of patients and COVID-19 outcomes.
resultsIn addition to the high smoking prevalence among our hospitalized COVID-19 patients (42.3%), enrolled smokers tended to have higher reported ICU admissions (28.3% vs 16.6%, p<0.001), longer length of stay in the hospital (12.0 ± 7.8 vs 10.8 days, p<0.001) and higher death incidences as compared to non-smokers (60.5% vs 39.5%, p<0.001). Smokers had an elevated odds ratio for death (OR = 2.3, p<0.001) and for ICU admission (OR = 2.0, p<0.001) which remained significant in a multivariate regression model. Once adjusted for age and stratified by sex, our data revealed that current smoking status reduces survival rate in male patients ([HR] = 1.9 [95% (CI), 1.029-3.616]; p = 0.041) but it does not affect survival outcomes among hospitalized female patients([HR] = 0.79 [95% CI = 0.374-1.689]; p = 0.551).
conclusionA high smoking prevalence was detected in our hospitalized COVID-19 cohort combined with worse prognosis and higher mortality rate in smoking patients. Our study was the first to highlight potential sex-specific consequences for smoking on COVID-19 outcomes that might further explain the higher vulnerability to death from this disease among men.
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