association between Electronic Cigarette Use and asthma among high School Students in South Korea

Introduction:
This article is a research study that investigates the association between electronic cigarette (EC) use and asthma among high school students in South Korea. The study aims to assess the relationship between EC use and newly diagnosed asthma within the past 12 months, rather than an increase in asthma attacks in already-diagnosed asthmatics.

Key Points:

* The study is a cross-sectional study that used data from The Tenth Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS), a national representative survey of 7th to 12th school grade students.
* The study found that EC use was associated with an increased odds of asthma diagnosis in high school students, even after adjusting for potential confounders.
* EC use was also associated with increased odds of asthma severity, represented by days absent from school due to asthma symptoms.
* The study identified several potential causes for the higher association with asthma in EC users, including the presence of glass-fibers, metals, nicotine, and nanoparticles in EC aerosols.
* The study acknowledges limitations such as the inability to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between EC use and asthma, recall bias, and the use of school day absences as a measure of asthma severity.
* Despite these limitations, the study concludes that EC use may be a risk factor for asthma and that the results may be useful in developing a scientific basis for the evaluation of a potential health hazard by EC.

Main Message:
The study provides evidence that EC use is associated with an increased risk of asthma diagnosis and severity in high school students. The potential causes for this association include the presence of harmful substances in EC aerosols, such as glass-fibers, metals, nicotine, and nanoparticles. While the study acknowledges limitations, the results suggest that EC use should be considered as a potential health hazard, and further research is needed to confirm these findings. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of regulating EC use to protect public health, particularly among vulnerable populations such as high school students.

Cho, Jun ho, and Samuel Y. Paik. “association between Electronic Cigarette Use and asthma among high School Students in South Korea.” Edited by heinz Fehrenbach. PLOS ONE 11, no. 3 (March 4, 2016): e0151022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151022.