Tobacco Use and COVID-19 Incidence in the Finnish General Population

NCT04915781 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: THL/713/6.00.00/2021
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60,872
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This is an observational study of participants in three general population health surveys (FinSote 2018, 2019, 2020) who are followed up until the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection or end of follow-up. The primary objective is to examine the association between tobacco use and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a general population sample in Finland.

Conditions

SARS-CoV-2 Infection; Covid19

Keywords

Tobacco use; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Epidemiology; Cohort Studies; Incidence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection

  Incidence is the detection of a new SARS-CoV-2 infection with RT-PCR or a COVID-19 syndrome diagnosed by a physician from baseline to April 30, 2021

  Baseline until SARS-CoV-2 infection or April 30, 2021

Study Arms (1)

Tobacco users

Never smokers (reference group) will be compared with former smokers, occasional smokers and daily smokers. For FinSote 2018 and 2020, we will also compare never users of (1) smokeless tobacco (snus), (2) electronic cigarettes with and without nicotine or (3) nicotine replacement therapy products with respective former, occasional and daily users.

Other: Not applicable, this is an observational study

Interventions

Not applicable, this is an observational study OTHER

Not applicable, this is an observational study

Tobacco users

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Permanent residents in Finland aged 20 and over who participated in the FinSote surveys in 2018, 2019 and 2020. These are general population samples representative of the Finnish population. The sampling frame was the Population Register (in 2020 the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, created after the merge between the Population Register of Statistics Finland and local register offices), which includes all individuals residing permanently in Finland, including conscripts and people living in institutions.

You may qualify if:

• Permanent residents of Finland
• Registered in the Population Register at the moment of sampling
• Aged 20 and over
• Participated in the FinSote surveys in 2018, 2019 or 2020

You may not qualify if:

• Temporary residents in Finland or tourists
• Age less than 20 years old
• Did not participate in FinSote surveys in 2018, 2019 and 2020

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: lead
• Karolinska Institutet: collaborator
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Finland

Helsinki, 00271, Finland

Location

Related Publications (8)

• Simons D, Shahab L, Brown J, Perski O. The association of smoking status with SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization and mortality from COVID-19: a living rapid evidence review with Bayesian meta-analyses (version 7). Addiction. 2021 Jun;116(6):1319-1368. doi: 10.1111/add.15276. Epub 2020 Nov 17.

  PMID: 33007104 BACKGROUND

• Bar-Zeev Y. Commentary on Simons et al. Public health implications of the suggested association between nicotine, smoking and infection with SARS-CoV-2. Addiction. 2021 Jun;116(6):1369-1370. doi: 10.1111/add.15356. Epub 2020 Dec 25. No abstract available.

  PMID: 33368844 BACKGROUND

• Griffith GJ, Morris TT, Tudball MJ, Herbert A, Mancano G, Pike L, Sharp GC, Sterne J, Palmer TM, Davey Smith G, Tilling K, Zuccolo L, Davies NM, Hemani G. Collider bias undermines our understanding of COVID-19 disease risk and severity. Nat Commun. 2020 Nov 12;11(1):5749. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19478-2.

  PMID: 33184277 BACKGROUND

• Haddad C, Bou Malhab S, Sacre H, Salameh P. Smoking and COVID-19: A Scoping Review. Tob Use Insights. 2021 Feb 15;14:1179173X21994612. doi: 10.1177/1179173X21994612. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 33642886 BACKGROUND

• Tattan-Birch H, Marsden J, West R, Gage SH. Assessing and addressing collider bias in addiction research: the curious case of smoking and COVID-19. Addiction. 2021 May;116(5):982-984. doi: 10.1111/add.15348. Epub 2021 Jan 20. No abstract available.

  PMID: 33226690 BACKGROUND

• van Westen-Lagerweij NA, Meijer E, Meeuwsen EG, Chavannes NH, Willemsen MC, Croes EA. Are smokers protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19)? The origins of the myth. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2021 Feb 26;31(1):10. doi: 10.1038/s41533-021-00223-1.

  PMID: 33637750 BACKGROUND

• Vardavas CI, Nikitara K. COVID-19 and smoking: A systematic review of the evidence. Tob Induc Dis. 2020 Mar 20;18:20. doi: 10.18332/tid/119324. eCollection 2020.

  PMID: 32206052 BACKGROUND

• Jimenez-Ruiz CA, Lopez-Padilla D, Alonso-Arroyo A, Aleixandre-Benavent R, Solano-Reina S, de Granda-Orive JI. [COVID-19 and Smoking: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Evidence]. Arch Bronconeumol. 2021 Jan;57:21-34. doi: 10.1016/j.arbres.2020.06.024. Epub 2020 Jul 25. Spanish.

  PMID: 34629638 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Description of the Tobrisk-CoV project

MeSH Terms

Conditions

COVID-19; Tobacco Use

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; Virus Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Behavior

Study Officials

• Sakari Karvonen, PhD

  Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 3, 2021
• First Posted: June 7, 2021
• Study Start: October 2, 2017
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2021
• Study Completion: December 30, 2021
• Last Updated: June 22, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

FI (1)