CVD Risk Not Reduced With Dual Use of E-Cigarettes, Smoking

FRIDAY, May 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Dual use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and smoking is not associated with a significant reduction in the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a research letter published online May 6 in Circulation.

Jonathan B. Berlowitz, from the Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues examined the association between e-cigarette use and incident CVD using data from a nationally representative cohort study with five annual waves of self-reported data obtained from 2013 to 2019. The analyses included 24,027 eligible respondents (50 percent younger than 35 years).

The researchers identified 1,487 incident cases of any CVD and 519 cases of myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, or stroke. After adjustment for covariates, the risk for developing any CVD did not differ for participants exclusively using e-cigarettes versus nonusers (hazard ratio [HR], 1.00; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.69 to 1.45), while the risk for MI, heart failure, or stroke was higher, but not statistically significantly (HR, 1.35; 95 percent CI, 0.75 to 2.42). E-cigarette use was associated with a 30 to 40 percent lower risk for CVD compared with smoking, but the association was only significant for the outcome of any CVD (HR, 0.66; 95 percent CI, 0.46 to 0.94). The risk for dual users was not significantly different from that of exclusive smokers for any CVD or for MI, heart failure, or stroke (HRs [95 percent CIs], 1.01 [0.81 to 1.26] and 0.94 [0.65 to 1.36], respectively).

“Our results suggest that combining smoking with e-cigarette use does not reduce CVD events and that quitting both products is required to ensure a mitigation of risk,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Johnson & Johnson.

Abstract/Full Text