Dataset Information

E-Cigarette Use Associated With Asthma Independent of Cigarette Smoking and Marijuana in a 2017 National Sample of Adolescents.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Knowledge about the health consequences of e-cigarette use in adolescence remains limited. Available studies of asthma among adolescents are based on data collected five or more years ago, and evidence from more recent generations of e-cigarette products is needed.

Methods

We analyzed data from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a cross-sectional study with a representative U.S. national sample of high school students. Multivariable analyses tested for associations of ever and 30-day e-cigarette use with asthma controlling for cigarette smoking, marijuana use, demographics, and obesity.

Results

A significant association with asthma was found for ever use of e-cigarettes, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.15 (confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.30; p = .02) and for currently using e-cigarettes, AOR = 1.30 (CI, 1.10-1.53; p = .002). Also related to asthma were current cigarette smoking, AOR = 1.24 (CI, 1.03-1.51; p = .03) and obesity, AOR = 1.48 (CI, 1.30-1.68; p < .0001). E-cigarettes had an additive effect for asthma beyond smoking (p = .03). Differentials in asthma prevalence by race/ethnicity were found, with lower prevalence of asthma for non-Hispanic Asian (p = .02) and Hispanic (p = .03) and higher prevalence for non-Hispanic black (p < .0001) and non-Hispanic multirace (p < .0001) relative to non-Hispanic white populations.

Conclusions

E-cigarette use was significantly associated with asthma in recent data on adolescents, controlling for several disease-relevant covariates. The results are consistent with studies based on previous generations of e-cigarettes and support the significance of e-cigarettes as a continuing public health concern.

SUBMITTER: Wills TA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8248447 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Introduction:This study examines the associations between early onset of e-cigarette use and cigarette smoking and other substance use behaviors among US adolescents. Methods:Data were collected via self-administered questionnaires from a nationally representative sample of 2299 US high school seniors attending public and private high schools during the spring of their senior year in 2015 as part of the Monitoring the Future study. Results:A higher percentage of adolescents who began using e-cigarettes in ninth grade or earlier (early onset) were found to report current and lifetime cigarette smoking and other substance use relative to those individuals who never used e-cigarettes or those who began using e-cigarettes later in the 12th grade. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that the adjusted odds of alcohol use, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, nonmedical prescription drug use, and other illicit drug use among early onset e-cigarette users were significantly greater than those for individuals never having used e-cigarettes (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] ranged 9.5-70.6, p < .001). While these associations were significant for both experimental and frequent e-cigarette users, the effects of early onset were stronger among frequent e-cigarette users. Similarly, the odds of these substance use behaviors (except alcohol) among early onset e-cigarette users were also significantly greater than the odds for later onset e-cigarette users (AORs ranged 2.8-4.1, p < .05). Conclusions:Early onset of e-cigarette use was significantly associated with increased odds of cigarette smoking and other substance use behaviors. E-cigarette use is often preceded by alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use, suggesting that more long-term prospective studies are warranted. Implications:To date, no studies have examined the probability of cigarette smoking and other substance use behaviors as a function of age at onset of e-cigarette use. In the present study, early onset of e-cigarette use was significantly associated with increased odds of cigarette smoking and other substance use behaviors. The findings reinforce the importance of addressing a wide range of substances including alcohol, traditional cigarettes, and marijuana when developing early primary prevention efforts to reduce e-cigarette use among youth.