Lung symptoms common to users of e-cigarettes and related products

According to an analysis of the 2016 National Survey, one-third of people using e-cigarettes or related products have lung or airway impact or injury-related symptoms presented at the American Heart Association Science Session 2020. Reported.

“Many people continue to think that smoking and using e-cigarettes and related products is safer, or at least safer than smoking flammable cigarettes, but of these products. It is dangerous to use, “Thanh-Huyen T. Vu, MD, Ph. D., Senior Author of Epidemiology Research and Research Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago. “Recent outbreak Electronic Cigarette-Or, a vaping-related lung injury known as EVALI raises serious public health concerns about the effects of vaping on lung health. However, information on clinical symptoms related to the use of various types of e-cigarettes and related products, especially on the symptoms of healthy people, is limited. “

To fill that knowledge gap, researchers equalized the survey responses of more than 1,400 current e-cigarette and related product users aged 18-64 who participated in a national online survey in 2016 to men and women. It was divided into and analyzed. Participants reported on the specific e-cigarette vaping devices and related products they used. In addition, from a list of 13 specific symptoms, they chose what they believed could be caused by inhaling their vapors, and others they thought they experienced as a result of inhaling their vapors. I reported the symptom.

Researchers have specifically focused on five symptoms included in the list of symptoms identified by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as related to lung injury associated with smoking electronic cigarettes or steam: Cough, shortness of breath, nausea, stomach pain and chest pain. After adjusting for demographic factors, smoking, e-cigarette and related product usage and duration, the researchers also analyzed whether the choice of a particular product influences the development of these symptoms.

Researchers have found the following:

• More than half (55%) of the respondents had one or more symptoms.
• One-third (33%) reported having one or more of the five e-cigarette or vapor-related symptoms such as lung injury (EVALI). Cough and nausea were the most common.
• The percentage of respondents reporting symptoms like EVALI was high among those under 45, Hispanics, current smokers, or current users of other tobacco products such as pipes and smokeless tobacco.
• People are 70% more likely to report symptoms like EVALI when using a device that has been replenished by pouring more electronic liquid than those who are using a non-refillable device. When using a device with a refillable cartridge, the chances of reporting these symptoms were 95% higher.
• Those who reported mixing their e-liquid were 40% more likely to report EVALI-like symptoms.
• People who used flavored e-cigarettes were 71% more likely to report EVALI-like symptoms.
• After a surge in lung injuries and deaths associated with inhaling steam in 2019, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigators have used one of the possible causes of lung damage in electronic liquids, including cannabis. I have identified it as an additive, Vitamin E Acetate. From sources other than the internet or legitimate marijuana pharmacies.

“Our results show that the symptoms of lung damage associated with e-cigarettes or vaping are not strange and are short-lived or THC (psychoactive ingredient of cannabin) or vitamin E acetate. It shows that it is only related to use. It may have contributed to the outbreak of EVALI in the last year or so. ” “Healthcare professionals need to help patients better understand the full risks and potential harms of using e-cigarettes and related products.”

The survey was conducted in 2016, but researchers believe the findings are relevant and important today. Despite growing public health concerns, the use of e-cigarettes and related products has increased since 2016, seducing potential users and turning current users into new products, Vu said. New device options are skyrocketing as we have more product choices to attract.

“These findings are from adult studies, but they are also important for young people. From previous reports, vapor-breathing and teenagers have changed liquids and devices, and have chosen flavor products. We know it’s likely to happen, “said the co-author of the study. Rosemary Robertson, MD, FAHA, Deputy Chief Science and Medical Officer of the American Heart Association, and co-director of the Association’s Center for Tobacco Control Science, which supported the study. “Public health messages are for parents and guardians, or other adults who work closely with young people such as teachers and coaches to better understand the relationship between e-cigarette use and serious health risks. Must be designed. “

According to the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 3.6 million U.S. adolescents are currently using e-cigarettes, and more than 8 out of 10 current users are using flavored e-cigarettes. doing. The American Heart Association supports three proactive initiatives, including research, policy recommendations, and youth revitalization, to combat the teenage e-cigarette epidemic in the United States.

“We know that almost 90% of smokers become addicted before the age of 20, and nicotine has a very serious effect on the developing brain,” said Dr. Robertson, an American. Co-Director Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar (FAHA) said. He is the Heart Association’s Center for Tobacco Control Science and a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. “This study provides a clear message, despite the belief that e-cigarettes are harmless or that some people believe. People who are completely harmless, harmful and use them. Is also recognized. “

Bhatnagar better understands asymptomatic changes in the lungs and circulatory system, and whether those changes are immediate, lifelong, or long-term, causing actual cardiovascular or pulmonary events. He said that a more rigorous evaluation is needed to better understand.

Recently, concerns have been raised about whether vaping-related lung damage can infect people with the COVID-19 virus, which makes them more likely to become seriously ill.

“Further research is needed on the relationship between vaping and EVALI. Lung injury In the case of COVID-19, existing evidence shows that there should be concerns and it is worth avoiding this risk by not inhaling vapors, “Vu said.

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For more information:
This summary will be presented in Session LF.APS.01-Substance Use and CVD: Nicotine, Marijuana and Other Drugs.