Several recent scientific publications indicate that smokers are more likely to be admitted to ICU with COVID-19. In addition, among those who have died of the virus, more have been smokers than nonsmokers. We’ll know more conclusively as more data become available, however it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Prior to COVID, studies have shown that smokers are more than twice as likely to get the flu and have worse symptoms. Smokers also had a higher mortality rate during the previous MERS-CoV outbreak.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7083240/
Author: Romilly Hodges, MS CNS
https://www.drkarafitzgerald.com/ Romilly Hodges, CNS CKNS CDN IFMCP mBANT CNHC, is a clinical nutritionist and Programs Director for Dr. Kara Fitzgerald.
Romilly has written peer-reviewed publications, book contributions and many online articles. She is the author of the book Immune Resilience; The Breakthrough Plan to Protect Your Body and Fight Disease published in 2022 by Avery, a division of Penguin Random House. She has contributed to professional training courses and supervised practice programs for functional medicine and nutrition professionals. Romilly has also worked in clinical research, including designing the study diet for the first-of-its-kind epigenetic diet study run through the National University of Natural Medicine, as well as follow-up clinical research. She currently serves on the Board of the Accreditation Council for Nutrition Professional Education.
We have both the opportunity and responsibility to change the trajectory of chronic disease through targeted, personalized nutrition, lifestyle and environmental interventions.