Predictors of electronic cigarette use and its association with respiratory health and obesity in young adulthood in Sweden; findings from the population-based birth cohort BAMSE

• Published in: Environmental research Vol. 208; p. 112760
• Main Authors: Sompa, Shanzina Iasmin, Zettergren, Anna, Ekström, Sandra, Upadhyay, Swapna, Ganguly, Koustav, Georgelis, Antonios, Ljungman, Petter, Pershagen, Göran, Kull, Inger, Melén, Erik, Palmberg, Lena, Bergström, Anna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 15-05-2022
• Subjects: Adult; Birth Cohort; Cigarette smoking; Cross-Sectional Studies; E-cigarette; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; Female; Humans; Lung function; Male; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Respiratory symptoms; Sweden - epidemiology; Vaping - epidemiology; Young Adult; Sweden; Obesity; Lung function; Cigarette smoking; E-cigarette; Respiratory symptoms
• ISSN: 0013-9351; 1096-0953; 1096-0953
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112760

Despite the growing popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) over the last decade, few epidemiological studies have examined the influence on respiratory health in young adulthood. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with e-cigarette use in young adulthood in Sweden, and to examine associations between e-cigarette use and lung function, respiratory symptoms, and obesity. This cross-sectional study included 3055 young adults from Sweden and used questionnaire and clinical data obtained at age 22–25 years. The prevalence of current e-cigarette use was 3.9% (n = 120). Few participants reported daily (0.4%) or exclusive (0.8%) use of e-cigarettes. In a multivariable adjusted logistic regression model, e-cigarette use was significantly associated with male gender (OR:3.2; 95% CI:1.5–6.7) and cigarette smoking (OR:14.7; 95% CI:5.5–39.0 for daily smoking). Prevalence of cough (15.0% vs. 8.5%) and mucus production (22.3% vs. 14.8%) was significantly higher among e-cigarette users compared to non-users, while no difference in lung function was observed. In addition, the prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher among e-cigarette users compared to non-users (36.7% vs. 22.3% with BMI≥25 kg/m2). In conclusion, cigarette smokers and males used e-cigarette more often compared to females and non-cigarette smokers. Attention should be given to respiratory symptoms among e-cigarette users, although our results may be explained by the concurrent use of conventional cigarettes, as the group of exclusive e-cigarette users were too small to allow firm conclusions.
•Assessed factors associated with e-cigarette use among young adults in Sweden.•E-cigarette use was more common among males and among cigarette smokers.•E-cigarettes increased the risk of respiratory symptoms if combined with smoking.•E-cigarette use was associated with obesity which warrants additional research.