A NEW study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has found that 1 in 3 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are susceptible to contracting a severe form of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization.

The paper, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health on Monday, found that smoking — both cigarettes and e-cigarettes — largely contributes to the group’s risk.

While smoking was the greatest risk factor, obesity, asthma, diabetes, and immune disorders often contribute to young people’s risk of getting severely sick with COVID-19 too.

Meanwhile, stories have emerged in recent weeks of young adults — some of whom seemed to be otherwise healthy before getting sick — experiencing severe complications and even dying from COVID-19.

At the start of the pandemic, it seemed like the new coronavirus only seriously affected older adults. Now, it’s become increasingly clear that younger people, including those in their 20s, can develop severe COVID-19 too.

“The fundamental philosophy that youth is protective is being dismantled. Increased levels of obesity, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle are putting our youth at risk from a much earlier age than we have seen in the past,” said Dr. Sharon Chekijian, a Yale Medicine emergency medicine physician.

The researchers evaluated the health data of over 8,000 young adults ages 18 to 25, which was sourced from the National Health Interview Survey.

They studied how many people in the group had a risk factor or medical vulnerability for COVID-19, like diabetes, obesity, an immune disorder, heart condition, or if they smoke.

The team found that 32 percent of the population was at risk for the disease.

That percentage was greatly influenced by cigarette and e-cigarette smokers.

When smokers were removed from the equation, the percentage was halved: Just 16 percent of young adults were at risk for severe COVID-19.

The researchers were surprised to discover that so many young adults were at risk for severe COVID-19.

“We decided to look at this group and the findings were 1 in 3 of them of the sample that we looked at were susceptible,” senior author Dr. Charles Irwin Jr., the director of UCSF’s division of adolescent and young adult medicine, told Healthline.

What surprised them was how big of a role smoking played in the group’s risk — it mattered more than obesity and asthma, according to Irwin.

This study highlights the impact smoking has on people’s health, no matter their age.

“This irritant disrupts the airway epithelial barrier, and this disruption and loss of protection makes it easier to contract infections,” said Laren Tan, the medical director of the Comprehensive Program for Obstructive Airway Diseases at Loma Linda University Health.

When exposed to a virus like this one, smokers with injured lung capacity are at a greater disadvantage, compared with those who don’t smoke and have healthy lungs, Tan noted.

So, what should young adults take away here?

Irwin says smoking needs to be addressed. It’s a huge risk factor for COVID-19, especially amongst the 18- to 25-year-old crowd.

The good news, according to Irwin, is that smoking is modifiable. People can quit or change their smoking habits at any time and immediately reduce their risk.

(SD-Agencies)