Researchers Find Association Between Vaping and Asthma Among US Adolescents

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Texas A&M.

A new study from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health suggests that vaping increases the risk of asthma in adolescents who have never smoked conventional tobacco products.

In this new study, which was published in Preventive Medicine, researchers analyzed data from a national survey of youth to determine whether there is an association between vaping and asthma. The researchers also sought to identify factors that may be associated with e-cigarette use in adolescents.

The team used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a national health dataset set up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track the health behaviors and outcomes of children and youth. This study used data collected between 2015 and 2019 that included information on e-cigarette use. The analysis included data on more than 3,000 adolescents aged 13 to 17 in Texas and more than 32,000 adolescents in the United States for comparison.

The study identified an association between e-cigarette use and asthma in adolescents who had never smoked conventional tobacco products. This demonstrates that vaping increases the risk of asthma independently from conventional tobacco product use in adolescents.

The researchers also found evidence that some demographic factors, behaviors related to substance use, and the presence of depressive symptoms are associated with e-cigarette use. Adolescents who used conventional cigarettes, alcohol and other substances were more likely to use e-cigarettes, as were subjects with depression.

Source: Texas A&M
https://today.tamu.edu/2023/09/18/researchers-find-association-between-vaping-and-asthma-among-us-adolescents/