October 26, 2020

Correlates of Death among SARS-CoV-2 Positive Veterans: The Contribution of Lifetime Tobacco Use

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): risk factors

Veterans with COVID-19 who reported using tobacco at the time of their illness or at any time prior had a higher risk of mortality, even after controlling for other health and social factors. Other factors positively related to the relative risk of death were older age, male sex, immunodeficiency, and endocrine and pulmonary diseases. Results were obtained from retrospective chart reviews of 440 veterans (81% African American/Black) who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at a large, southeastern Veterans Affairs hospital. 

Raines et al. (Feb 2021). Correlates of Death among SARS-CoV-2 Positive Veterans: The Contribution of Lifetime Tobacco Use. Addictive Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106692