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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Family Medicine and Primary Care
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1499239
This article is part of the Research Topic Long COVID: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Clinical Management View all 9 articles

Influence of smoking and obesity on Post-Covid-19 sequelae and risk of hospitalization

Provisionally accepted
Daniel Fernández Pedruelo Daniel Fernández Pedruelo *Raúl Juárez-Vela Raúl Juárez-Vela Consuelo Sancho Consuelo Sancho
  • University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has significantly impacted the global healthcare system, with particularly harmful effects on the human respiratory system. Beyond the acute symptoms, there is growing concern about persistent symptoms that last for weeks or months after the initial infection, known as long COVID syndrome. This study focuses on investigating the relationship between smoking, obesity, and the presence of post-COVID-19 sequelae, as well as their influence on the risk of hospitalization. Materials and Methods: An observational and retrospective study was conducted using medical records of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Castilla y León, Spain, between November 1 and 30, 2020. The patients were divided into three groups: smoking (current and former), obesity/overweight, and control group. Various variables were analyzed, including age, sex, and the presence of post-COVID-19 sequelae, chronic pathologies, cardiovascular diseases, psychological conditions, and hospitalization. Descriptive statistics and Odds Ratio analysis were used for comparisons. Results: The results revealed that obesity was significantly associated with a higher risk of post-COVID-19 sequelae, particularly memory disorders and neurological, mental, or psychological symptoms. In contrast, smoking was correlated with an increase in memory problems but did not show a direct influence on post-COVID-19 sequelae or hospitalization. Additionally, women were found to have a higher prevalence of obesity in the studied population. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that obesity increases the risk of post-COVID-19 sequelae, especially in terms of memory disorders and neuropsychological symptoms. On the other hand, smoking is related to memory problems. Regarding cardiovascular pathologies, there was not enough statistical evidence for analysis, while for hospitalization, it was determined that smoking and obesity do not have a direct influence on these post-COVID consequences.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Smoking, Obesity, Sequelae, Hospitalization

    Received: 20 Sep 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fernández Pedruelo, Juárez-Vela and Sancho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Daniel Fernández Pedruelo, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

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