a Longitudinal Study of Exposure to Tobacco-Related Toxicants and Subsequent Respiratory Symptoms among U.S. adults with Varying E-cigarette Use Status.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the relationship between e-cigarette use and respiratory symptoms in U.S. adults. The study uses data from the Population assessment of Tobacco and health (PaTh) Study to examine the associations between self-reported e-cigarette use status at baseline and respiratory symptoms at the 1-year follow-up, as well as the relationship between concentration levels of biomarkers at baseline and self-reported respiratory symptoms at follow-up across e-cigarette use groups.

Key Points:

* The study uses data from the PaTh Study, a longitudinal cohort study of tobacco use behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and health outcomes among a nationally representative sample of U.S. civilians.
* The study focuses on a selected panel of biomarkers with the most relevance to respiratory symptoms, including nicotine metabolites, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNas), heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Pahs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
* The study examines the associations between self-reported e-cigarette use status at baseline and respiratory symptoms at the 1-year follow-up, as well as the relationship between concentration levels of biomarkers at baseline and self-reported respiratory symptoms at follow-up across e-cigarette use groups.
* The study finds that exposure to certain hPhCs varies by e-cigarette use status at baseline, which is associated with subsequent respiratory symptoms.
* The study controls for various confounding factors, including sociodemographics, self-reported exposure to secondhand smoke, past 12-month use of marijuana, and lung or respiratory disease.
* The study uses urinary sample weight, 100 replicated weights, and the balanced repeated replication method with Fay’s adjustment = 0.3 to account for the PaTh Study’s complex design.
* The study performs sensitivity analyses to further remove potential confounding effects.

Main Message:
The study finds that e-cigarette use is associated with increased exposure to known tobacco-related toxicants and risks of subsequent respiratory symptoms than nonusers. Poly e-cigarette/tobacco users exhibit higher risk than exclusive e-cigarette users. These findings suggest that e-cigarette use may increase the risks of respiratory symptoms, highlighting the need for further research on the health effects of e-cigarette use.

Dai h, Khan aS. a Longitudinal Study of Exposure to Tobacco-Related Toxicants and Subsequent Respiratory Symptoms among U.S. adults with Varying E-cigarette Use Status. Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 2020;22:S61-S69. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntaa180