Summary
Introduction:
This text provides a summary of a systematic review on the cardiovascular effects of e-cigarette substitution for smoking. The review includes 25 studies with 1810 participants who smoked. The studies were conducted in various countries and included both acute and follow-up testing. The review aimed to assess the risk of bias and study quality of the included studies.
Key Points:
* The review included 25 studies with 1810 participants who smoked.
* Twenty studies were rated at high risk of bias, and five were rated as some concerns.
* Nearly two-thirds of the test analyses indicated that e-cigarette use had no significant difference compared with tobacco cigarettes on heart rate, blood pressure, and other cardiovascular tests.
* Two studies found that participants with hypertension experienced a clinically relevant reduction in systolic blood pressure after 1 year of e-cigarette use.
* The evidence for the cardiovascular effects of e-cigarette substitution for smoking is of low to very low certainty.
* an update search on May 30, 2022, retrieved five studies that did not alter the conclusion.
* The study designs included randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental clinical trials, and cohort studies.
* Risk of bias and study quality were evaluated with the JBI Critical appraisal tools and the Oxford Catalogue of Bias.
Main Message:
The main message of the text is that e-cigarette substitution for smoking incurs no additional cardiovascular risks and may have some possible benefits. however, the evidence is of low to very low certainty. Therefore, more research is needed to confirm the cardiovascular effects of e-cigarette substitution for smoking. additionally, healthcare providers should be aware of the potential benefits and risks when advising patients who smoke on e-cigarette use as a harm reduction strategy.
Citation
La Rosa G, Vernooij R, qureshi M, Polosa R, O’Leary R. Clinical testing of the cardiovascular effects of e-cigarette substitution for smoking: a living systematic review. Internal and emergency medicine. 2023;18(3):917-928. doi:10.1007/s11739-022-03161-z
