Association between e-cigarette use and asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Respiratory Medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Rising rates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use globally.
• Growing evidence suggests potential adverse respiratory effects from e-cigarettes.
• Concerns exist regarding the impact of e-cigarette use on asthma prevalence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and evaluate current evidence on the association between e-cigarette use and asthma worldwide.
• To synthesize findings from recent cross-sectional and cohort studies.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search across multiple databases (PubMed, Scopus, etc.) in March 2021.
• Inclusion of cross-sectional and cohort studies examining e-cigarette use and asthma.
• Exclusion of studies focusing on asthma exacerbations; quality assessment using AXIS tool.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 13 cross-sectional studies involving over one million participants.
• Significant association found between current e-cigarette use and asthma (pOR = 1.36).
• Significant association also found between ever e-cigarette use and asthma (pOR = 1.24).

Conclusions:

• E-cigarette use, both current and past, is correlated with asthma.
• Heterogeneity and inconsistencies in study covariates limit definitive interpretation.
• Further research is required to establish a potential causal link between e-cigarette use and asthma.