Smoking Rates and Disease Severity in COVID-19 Patients at Masih Deneshvari Hospital

Background: Considering that smoking is a major risk factor for respiratory diseases and viral infections, in this study, we investigated the smoking status in patients admitted with the diagnosis of COVID-19 at Masih Daneshvari Hospital. Materials and Methods: The information was obtained through the registration of patients’ information in the hospital. Results: A total of 776 patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to Masih Daneshvari Hospital from April 2019 to June 2020 were examined, among whom 422 were men (54.4%), and 352 were women (45.5%). The mean age of the studied patients was 55.7 with a standard deviation of 15.9. The mean duration of hospitalization was 10.3 days with a standard deviation of 6.7 days. 178 (23.4%) patients were smokers. 45 smokers (25.3%) were hospitalized for more than 3 weeks, while 35 (6%) non-smokers were hospitalized for more than 3 weeks (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between smokers and non-smokers in terms of hospitalization in the intensive care unit and mortality. Conclusion: The significant finding is the high prevalence of smoking in the patient population, which should be taken into consideration. The higher length of hospitalization in smokers is also a notable finding that can cause problems for the health system and patients. Encouragement to quit smoking should be considered in health programs.