Vapear is linked to long-term risk of respiratory disease, according to new study

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(CNN) - Vaping or using electronic cigarettes for a long period was associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, chronic bronchitis and asthma, in a new study.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine on Monday, is one of the first investigations examining the link between electronic cigarette use and long-term respiratory disease, by analyzing the use of electronic cigarettes and respiratory disease. over a period of three years.

"I was a little surprised that we could find evidence about the pulmonary disease incident in the longitudinal study, because three years is a long time, but most of the studies that analyze the development of lung disease range from 10 to 20 years," he said. Stanton Glantz, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Research and Education for Tobacco Control at the University of California, San Francisco.

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"It is the first longitudinal study in the general population that links electronic cigarettes with chronic lung disease," he said. "I guess if we went back and did this study in another five years, we would probably find greater effects."

The study included data analysis of 32,320 adults in the United States. A health professional asked adults who had lung or respiratory conditions if they ever used electronic cigarettes or steam cigarettes or other combustible tobacco, among other demographic and clinical variables.

The data, which come from the Tobacco Population and Health Assessment, were collected between 2013 and 2016.

The data showed that the risk of developing respiratory diseases was significantly associated with former and current users of electronic cigarettes, and there was a stronger separate association with current and former smokers of cigarettes or other combustible tobacco, who only smoked cigarettes or were users of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

“The risks of electronic cigarettes and cigarettes are independent of each other, so if you are a dual user, it means that you are smoking and using electronic and normal cigarettes at the same time, then you have the risk of smoking multiplied due to the risks of use of electronic cigarettes, ”said Glantz.

“The chances of developing lung disease for users of electronic cigarettes increased by approximately a factor of 1.3, and for smokers it was 1.6. If it's a dual user, it's 3.3, ”Glantz said of the new study.

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The study had some limitations, including that it was based on data from adults who reported on their own, which lends itself to bias.

The study adds to the proliferation of research aimed at measuring the impact of the use of electronic cigarettes on the lungs, heart, blood vessels and brain, but experts have warned that much of that research remains in its early stages, often taking place in the laboratory or in animals.

The new study "applies to people who use electronic cigarettes in the real world," Glantz said.

In general, “we are still learning a lot about electronic cigarettes,” Dr. Maria Rahmandar, a pediatrician and medical director of the Substance Prevention and Use Program at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, had previously told CNN in October. who did not participate in the new study.

When it comes to specifically vaping liquids, he said, “Even these components that appear to be safe, we have no idea what they do once they are heated, aerosolized and decomposed in their by-products, and what effect they have, especially when they break down in small ultra-fine particles that can penetrate the deep parts of the lung. ”

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