Department of Health Education and Promotion, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Dec 15;22(Suppl 1):S45-S53. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa179.
Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) expose users to an aerosol containing chemicals, which could affect the respiratory system negatively. This study examined negative respiratory symptoms associated with ECIG use.
In 2019, adult current ECIG users from 24 US states who reported experiencing negative respiratory symptoms from ECIG use (n = 49; 44.9% women; mean age = 35.2, SD = 11.5) completed an online survey and brainstormed statements that completed the prompt: "A specific negative effect or symptom related to my breathing, nose, mouth, throat, or lungs that I have experienced from vaping/using my e-cigarette is..." Participants sorted the final list of 56 statements into groups of similar content and rated statements on how true they were for them. Multidimensional scaling analysis identified thematic clusters.
Eight ECIG use respiratory symptom clusters identified in analysis included Mucus and Congestion, Fatigue, Throat Symptoms, Breathing Problems, Mouth Symptoms, Chest Symptoms, Illness Symptoms, and Nose and Sinus Symptoms. Highly rated (ie, most common) symptoms included dry throat or mouth, fatigue during physical activity, coughing, shortness of breath, excessive phlegm, and bad taste in mouth. Mean cluster ratings did not differ based on lifetime cigarette smoking status (100 lifetime cigarettes smoked), but current cigarette smokers (ie, dual users) rated the Fatigue, Breathing Problems, Mucus and Congestion, and Nose and Sinus Symptoms clusters higher than noncurrent cigarette smokers.
Participant-identified respiratory symptoms perceived to be ECIG related, many similar to cigarette smoking symptoms. Future research should assess if these symptoms are associated with other negative health outcomes.
ECIG use exposes users to chemicals that may have negative health impacts on the respiratory system. Limited research has examined the broad range of negative respiratory symptoms associated with e-cigarette use. This study identified that ECIG-cigarette users perceive their ECIG use to be associated with negative respiratory symptoms. Many e-cigarette user-reported negative respiratory symptoms are similar to those associated with cigarette smoking, though some appear unique to e-cigarette use. Future research should continue to monitor respiratory symptoms reported by ECIG users and whether these are associated with health outcomes over time.
电子烟（ECIG）会使使用者吸入含有化学物质的气溶胶，这可能会对呼吸系统产生负面影响。本研究调查了与电子烟使用相关的负面呼吸症状。
在 2019 年，来自美国 24 个州的成年当前电子烟使用者报告称，他们在使用电子烟时出现了负面呼吸症状（n=49；44.9%为女性；平均年龄=35.2，标准差=11.5），他们完成了一项在线调查，并对以下内容进行了头脑风暴：“我从吸电子烟/使用我的电子烟中经历过的与呼吸、鼻子、嘴、喉咙或肺部有关的特定负面影响或症状是……”参与者将最终的 56 个陈述列表按照相似的内容进行分组，并对每个陈述对他们的真实性进行评分。多维尺度分析确定了主题集群。
分析中确定了 8 个与电子烟使用相关的呼吸症状集群，包括粘液和充血、疲劳、喉咙症状、呼吸问题、口腔症状、胸部症状、疾病症状和鼻子和鼻窦症状。评分较高（即最常见）的症状包括喉咙或口腔干燥、运动时疲劳、咳嗽、呼吸急促、过多的痰和口中异味。根据终生吸烟状况（吸烟 100 支），各集群的平均评分没有差异，但当前吸烟者（即双重使用者）对疲劳、呼吸问题、粘液和充血以及鼻子和鼻窦症状集群的评分高于非当前吸烟者。
参与者确定的与呼吸相关的感知电子烟相关症状，其中许多与吸烟症状相似。未来的研究应该评估这些症状是否与其他负面健康结果有关。
电子烟的使用会使使用者接触到可能对呼吸系统产生负面影响的化学物质。有限的研究已经检查了与电子烟使用相关的广泛的负面呼吸症状。本研究发现，电子烟-香烟使用者认为他们的电子烟使用与负面呼吸症状有关。许多电子烟使用者报告的负面呼吸症状与吸烟相似，尽管有些似乎是电子烟使用所特有的。未来的研究应该继续监测电子烟使用者报告的呼吸症状，以及这些症状是否随着时间的推移与健康结果有关。
