Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth

A number of recent studies have found low percentages of smokers among COVID-19 patients, causing scientists to conclude that smokers may be protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection. National and international media were interested in this story and we soon began receiving questions about this topic i...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: van Westen-Lagerweij, Naomi A., Meijer, Eline, Meeuwsen, Elisabeth G., Chavannes, Niels H., Willemsen, Marc C., Croes, Esther A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2021
Materias:
Comment
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7910565/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33637750
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41533-021-00223-1
_version_ 1783656145564467200
author van Westen-Lagerweij, Naomi A.
Meijer, Eline
Meeuwsen, Elisabeth G.
Chavannes, Niels H.
Willemsen, Marc C.
Croes, Esther A.
author_facet van Westen-Lagerweij, Naomi A.
Meijer, Eline
Meeuwsen, Elisabeth G.
Chavannes, Niels H.
Willemsen, Marc C.
Croes, Esther A.
author_sort van Westen-Lagerweij, Naomi A.
collection PubMed
description A number of recent studies have found low percentages of smokers among COVID-19 patients, causing scientists to conclude that smokers may be protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection. National and international media were interested in this story and we soon began receiving questions about this topic in general practice. In this article, we shed light on the process that resulted in the misinterpretation of observational research by scientists and the media. We also point out the methodological flaws of various studies on which hasty conclusions were based. Finally, we address the role of primary healthcare providers in mitigating the consequences of erroneous claims about a protective effect of smoking.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7910565
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Nature Publishing Group UK
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-79105652021-03-04 Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth van Westen-Lagerweij, Naomi A. Meijer, Eline Meeuwsen, Elisabeth G. Chavannes, Niels H. Willemsen, Marc C. Croes, Esther A. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med Comment A number of recent studies have found low percentages of smokers among COVID-19 patients, causing scientists to conclude that smokers may be protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection. National and international media were interested in this story and we soon began receiving questions about this topic in general practice. In this article, we shed light on the process that resulted in the misinterpretation of observational research by scientists and the media. We also point out the methodological flaws of various studies on which hasty conclusions were based. Finally, we address the role of primary healthcare providers in mitigating the consequences of erroneous claims about a protective effect of smoking. Nature Publishing Group UK 2021-02-26 /pmc/articles/PMC7910565/ /pubmed/33637750 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41533-021-00223-1 Text en © The Author(s) 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
spellingShingle Comment
van Westen-Lagerweij, Naomi A.
Meijer, Eline
Meeuwsen, Elisabeth G.
Chavannes, Niels H.
Willemsen, Marc C.
Croes, Esther A.
Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth
title Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth
title_full Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth
title_fullStr Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth
title_full_unstemmed Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth
title_short Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth
title_sort are smokers protected against sars-cov-2 infection (covid-19)? the origins of the myth
topic Comment
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7910565/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33637750
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41533-021-00223-1
work_keys_str_mv AT vanwestenlagerweijnaomia aresmokersprotectedagainstsarscov2infectioncovid19theoriginsofthemyth
AT meijereline aresmokersprotectedagainstsarscov2infectioncovid19theoriginsofthemyth
AT meeuwsenelisabethg aresmokersprotectedagainstsarscov2infectioncovid19theoriginsofthemyth
AT chavannesnielsh aresmokersprotectedagainstsarscov2infectioncovid19theoriginsofthemyth
AT willemsenmarcc aresmokersprotectedagainstsarscov2infectioncovid19theoriginsofthemyth
AT croesesthera aresmokersprotectedagainstsarscov2infectioncovid19theoriginsofthemyth

Ejemplares similares