Prevalence and risk factors of e-cigarette use among working-age adults with and without disabilities in 2017-2018.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of e-cigarette use among working-age adults with and without disabilities in the United States. The study uses data from the 2017-2018 Behavioral Risk Factor and Surveillance System (BRFSS) to estimate the prevalence of e-cigarette use and identify factors associated with its use among adults with and without disabilities.

Key Points:

* E-cigarette use was more prevalent among adults with a cognitive disability (12.0%), an independent living disability (11.0%), or two or more disabilities (9.2%) compared to adults without disabilities (4.8%).
* In multivariate analysis, adults with a cognitive disability (OR ¼1.45; p <.001), ambulatory disability (OR ¼1.23; p <.05), and those with two or more disabilities (OR ¼1.49; p <.001) had an increased likelihood of e-cigarette use compared to those without disabilities.
* Current smokers had greater odds of using e-cigarettes compared to never smokers (OR ¼8.53, p <.001).
* adults with disabilities had a higher prevalence of current e-cigarette use (8.6% vs. 4.8%) than individuals without disabilities.
* adults with a hearing disability had the lowest prevalence of e-cigarette use (4.3%).
* Men had greater odds of e-cigarette use than women (OR ¼1.45, p <.001).
* Young adults (age 18 e24 years) were six times more likely to use e-cigarettes than middle-aged adults (45 e54 years).

Main Message:
The study found that adults with disabilities, particularly those with cognitive or independent living disabilities, had a higher prevalence of e-cigarette use compared to adults without disabilities. The use of e-cigarettes was also associated with current smoking status, with current smokers having greater odds of using e-cigarettes compared to never smokers. These findings suggest that adults with disabilities may be an understudied yet high-risk group for e-cigarette use, which has rapidly increased throughout the United States during the past decade. Further research is needed to understand the risk factors associated with e-cigarette use in adults with disabilities and to develop targeted interventions to reduce e-cigarette use in this population.

Gimm G, Parekh T, Rossheim ME. Prevalence and risk factors of e-cigarette use among working-age adults with and without disabilities in 2017-2018. Disability and health journal. 2021;14(2):101048. doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.101048