TUESDAY, Sept. 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Electronic cigarette use is associated with a higher risk for asthma in adolescents who never smoked conventional tobacco products, according to a study published in the October issue of Preventive Medicine.

Taehyun Roh, Ph.D., from Texas A&M University in College Station, and colleagues used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (2015 to 2019) to examine the factors associated with e-cigarette use and the relationship between e-cigarette use and asthma among U.S. adolescents.

The researchers found that male gender, previous combustible product use, substance use, and depression were associated with higher odds of ever using e-cigarettes. Current use was associated with age and White race. Among adolescents who have never used combustible products, e-cigarette use was significantly associated with asthma in both Texas and the entire United States, after adjusting for other factors (odds ratios, 1.32 and 1.18, respectively).

“Raising awareness, implementing stricter regulations, and promoting alternative coping mechanisms for mental health are potential interventions to mitigate respiratory health problems in youth. By increasing knowledge about the harmful effects of e-cigarette use, individuals will be able to make informed decisions and potentially discourage adolescents from initiating or continuing e-cigarette use,” the authors write. “Future longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm the observed associations and establish causality.”

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