Snus and Cardiometabolic Health Markers Among Swedish Young Adults

Introduction:
This text provides an overview of a scientific study investigating the relationship between snus use and cardiometabolic health markers in young adults. The study was conducted within the BAMSE (Swedish acronym for Children, Allergy, Environment, Stockholm, Epidemiology) birth cohort and included participants followed up around 24 and 26 years of age. The study aimed to assess the associations between snus use and cardiometabolic markers, independent of other tobacco use.

Key Points:

* The study included 2256 participants at the 24-year follow-up and 1011 participants at the 26-year follow-up.
* Snus use was more common among men than women (21.9% vs. 6.4%).
* Among women, exclusive snus use was associated with increased BMI and waist circumference at the 24-year follow-up.
* Among men, using ≥4 cans/week was associated with increased BMI and a tendency toward increased body fat at the 26-year follow-up.
* Snus use was not associated with glycemic status or blood pressure.
* The study was cross-sectional, and the results should be interpreted with caution.
* The study highlights the need for further research on snus and cardiometabolic health, particularly given the recent trends of increased snus use among young adults.

Main Message:
The study found cross-sectional associations between snus use and measures of increased adiposity in a cohort of Swedish young adults, including BMI and waist circumference among women and BMI among heavy snus-using men. However, the study did not find associations between snus use and body fat percentage, glycemic status, or blood pressure. The findings emphasize the need for further research on the impact of snus use on cardiometabolic health, particularly given the increasing trend of snus use among young adults.

Anna Zettergren, Niklas Andersson, Göran Pershagen, Christian Lindh, Antonios Georgelis, Inger Kull, Erik Melén, Sandra Ekström, Petter Ljungman, Anna Bergström, Snus and Cardiometabolic Health Markers Among Swedish Young Adults, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 27, Issue 6, June 2025, Pages 1098–1108, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae267