CSIR Serosurvey: Smokers, Vegetarians, Blood Group O Less Susceptible to Covid-19 Infection

According to a latest CSIR serosurvey, smokers and vegetarians were found to have lower sero-positivity, while people with blood group 'O' were found less susceptible to Covid-19. The pan-India serosurvey studied the presence of antibodies SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the coronavirus disease. Conducted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the serosurvey also studied the neutralisation capability to infer possible risk factors for infection.

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As per the survey, despite Covid-19 being a respiratory disease, smoking might be acting as a defence due to its role in increasing the mucous production. Moreover, vegetarian food rich in fiber might be providing immunity against coronavirus disease owing to anti-inflammatory properties by modification of gut microbiota. It was also found in the survey that people with blood group 'O' may be less susceptible to infection, while 'B' and 'AB' were at a higher risk. Sero-positivity was highest for blood group type 'AB', followed by B as per the survey.

It must be noted that the study was carried out by a team of 140 doctors and scientists, who assessed 10,427 adult individuals. These people were working in more than 40 CSIR laboratories and centres in urban and semi-urban settings, and their family members. These people voluntarily participated in the study.

In the past, two studies from France along with similar reports from Italy, New York, and China have reported lower coronavirus infection rates among smokers.

The CSIR study, however, highlighted that there is a further need to perform a focused study to understand the effect of smoking and nicotine on Covid-19 infection.