COVID-19 and vaping in Russia: how are hospitalizations, course and outcomes of coronavirus infection related to e-cigarette use?

Aim. To study the relationship between hospitalizations, severity and mortality from a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with the frequency of e-cigarette (EC) consumption in the Russian Federation for 2020-2021.

Material and methods. The data on the number of people hospitalized with severe COVID-19 and those who died from COVID-19 for 20202021 in 85 Russian regions from the Federal Registry of COVID-19, as well as data on the status of EC consumption for 2020-2021 in 85 Russian regions from the Rosstat micro-database of the Sample Monitoring of the Population Health were analyzed. An analysis of the relationship between the frequency of EC consumption and the level of hospitalization with COVID-19, COVID-19 severity and mortality by sex and age groups and federal districts (FD) of the Russian Federation was carried out in the quadratic regression model.

Results. Nonlinear relationships between the studied parameters with a characteristic parabolic dependence were obtained. A significant relationship was found between COVID-19 mortality and the frequency of EC consumption in men aged 15-19 years (R²=0,24, p=0,001); in women aged 30-39 years (R²=0,13, p=0,001). The relationships between the level of hospitalizations, severe and fatal outcomes of COVID-19 and EC consumption in most federal districts demonstrate an inverse parabolic relationship.

Conclusion. The relationships between the frequency of EC consumption and COVID-19 indicators are complex and nonlinear. Deep segmented analysis revealed significant associations explaining the contribution of EC consumption to the level of hospitalizations, severe and fatal outcomes of COVID-19 in certain age and sex groups. In the context of the federal districts of the Russian Federation, these relationships are characterized by heterogeneity, apparently due to the impact of a number of demographic and socio-economic factors on COVID-19 outcomes.

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