Year: 2021
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Rationale: Exposure to secondhand nicotine vaping (SHNV) is common, especially among adolescents and young adults, as e-cigarette use (vaping) is highly prevalent in this age groups and is often perceived to be less harmful than cigarette. Due to lack of substantial objective data regarding the health effects of SHNV, public awareness regarding the harmful effects of SHNV is low and regulations of SHNV exposure in public places across the US is inconsistent. Based on the growing body of evidence that vaping is associated with respiratory health symptoms like wheeze, bronchitic symptoms (bronchitis, chronic cough, or phlegm; BCP), and shortness of breath (SOB), we hypothesized that SHNV is associated with adverse respiratory health symptoms among young adults. Method: We addressed our hypothesis in the prospective cohort study of Children Health Study (CHS) from Southern California. In 2014, the 12 th graders (N=2,090, average age: 17.3 years) of the CHS were recruited for the current study and followed till 2019, with repeated annual surveys. Detailed information of personal and secondhand smoking, vaping, and marijuana use was collected at each survey, along with history of wheeze, BCP, and shortness of breath (SOB) in the previous 12-months. Mixed effect logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between SHNV in each wave and each respiratory symptom (BCP, wheeze, and SOB) in that wave. All models included a participant-level intercept to account for multiple observations over time, with adjustment for demographic characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, baseline age, and parental education) and other smoking/vaping exposures. Results: In this study population, prevalence of SHNV increased from 11.7% to 15.6% during the study period, and the prevalence of wheeze, BCP, and SOB ranged from 12.3-14.9%, 19.4-26.0%, and 16.5-18.1%, respectively. Associations of SHNV exposure with BCP and SOB were observed [odds ratio (OR) 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06, 1.84 for BCP and OR 1.53, 95%CI 1.06, 2.21 for SOB] after controlling for personal vaping, personal and secondhand smoke exposure to tobacco or cannabis, and demographic characteristics. Stronger associations of these symptoms were observed with SHNV when analysis was restricted to participants who were neither personal smokers nor vapers. There were no associations with wheezing after adjustment for confounders. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study showing associations of SHNV with respiratory symptoms in young adults. These findings suggest that public awareness and regulation of SHNV is warranted.
Authors: K.T. Islam, J. Braymiller, F. liu, A.P. Tackett, M.E. Rebuli, J.L. Barrington-Trimis, R. McConnell
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4235355276