Vaping increases the risk for asthma

A Canadian study identified 19% elevated odds for asthma that are linked to the use of e-cigarettes. These findings suggest that e-cigarette use is a modifiable risk factor for asthma to be considered in the primary care of youths and adults.

“Our study asks the following questions: do e-cigarette users have an increased risk of asthma and if so, do they incur higher odds of an asthma attack,” Prof. Teresa To (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada) explained. The current study based on a 2019 survey in Ontario reported 23% of adolescents in student grades 7–12 as e-cigarette (EC) smokers [1]. The new cross-sectional analysis was based on data from individuals aged ≥12 years in 2 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey dated 2015/2016 and 2017/2018. For the case-control design, cases were defined as those self-reporting EC smoking within the last 30 days. To each case, 5 non-vaping controls were matched by features including age, gender, body-mass index, and smoking, as well as socioeconomic status employing a propensity score. The latter is a common statistic technique to reduce the bias due to confounding variables in observational studies.

The study included 17,190 matched subjects of whom 3.1% met the criteria of EC users. Hence, 1 in 32 participants smoked e-cigarettes within the last 30 days. ”We found that a significantly higher percentage of EC users had asthma and a higher percentage of those with asthma who smoked EC had an asthma attack in the past 12 months,” said Prof. To. The logistic regression that controlled for potential confounders known to be associated with asthma, including the variables utilised for the propensity score, identified 19% elevated odds of asthma in EC-smoking persons. Furthermore, EC vaping individuals with asthma had a 24% higher likelihood of having experienced an asthma attack in the last year. Interestingly, 50% of EC users also smoked cigarettes on a daily basis, whereas only 15% in the group not using EC did the same. “Of the e-cigarette users, about 15% reported fair to poor mental health compared with 7% amongst non-users,” Prof. To further elaborated. “These findings suggest that e-cigarette use is a modifiable risk factor for asthma to be considered in the primary care of youths and adults,” Prof. To concluded.

1. To T, et al. Does Vaping Increase the Odds of Asthma? A Canadian Community Health Survey Study. Session TP16: Clinical and research updates on tobacco cessation, vaping, and e-cigarettes. ATS 2021 International Conference, 14-19 May.

Posted on 17 May, 20214 August, 2021