Dai Hongying Daisy, Reyes Sara, Buckley James, Maloney Patrick
College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Jan 9;34(1):42-50. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-24-0955.
The current e-cigarette market has been rapidly evolving with an increase in the share of high nicotine concentration vaping products. This study examined urinary biomarkers of exposure (BOE) by nicotine concentration level among exclusive e-cigarette users.
Data were drawn from wave 5 (December 2018-November 2019) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study. Between-subject differences in BOEs of nicotine, metal, tobacco-specific nitrosamine, and volatile organic compounds were examined across e-cigarettes containing nicotine or not [yes (n = 300) vs. no (n = 31) vs. non-tobacco use (n = 3,021)] and different nicotine concentration levels (0.1%-1.7%, 1.8%-4.9%, and 5.0%+).
Among 3,353 participants, exclusive e-cigarette users exhibited higher mean concentrations of nicotine metabolites than non-tobacco users. Nicotine e-cigarette users had higher concentrations of total nicotine equivalents-2 [TNE2; mean (95% confidence interval), 21.8 (15.2-31.2) vs. 0.2 (0.1-0.6) nmol/mg creatinine, P < 0.0001] and cotinine [1,418.2 (998.0-2,015.4) vs. 12.2 (0.1-0.6), P < 0.0001) ng/mg creatinine, P < 0.0001] than non-nicotine e-cigarette users. Users of e-cigarette products with nicotine levels of 1.8% to 4.9% had higher TNE2 and cotinine levels than those using 0.1% to 1.7%, though differences were insignificant after adjusting for covariates. As compared to non-tobacco users, nicotine vapers had higher concentrations of lead (adjusted P = 0.01).
Nicotine containing e-cigarette users exhibited elevated levels of nicotine metabolites than non-nicotine containing vapers and non-tobacco users. Future research needs to investigate health effects of e-cigarette use across different nicotine levels.
Regulating the nicotine content in e-cigarettes could be crucial in managing nicotine exposure and potentially mitigating associated health risks.
随着高尼古丁浓度电子烟产品份额的增加，当前电子烟市场一直在迅速发展。本研究调查了仅使用电子烟者中按尼古丁浓度水平划分的接触生物标志物（BOE）。
数据取自烟草与健康人口评估研究的第5波（2018年12月至2019年11月）。在含尼古丁电子烟[是（n = 300）与否（n = 31）与非烟草使用者（n = 3,021）]以及不同尼古丁浓度水平（0.1%-1.7%、1.8%-4.9%和5.0%以上）之间，对尼古丁、金属、烟草特有亚硝胺和挥发性有机化合物的BOE进行了受试者间差异检验。
在3353名参与者中，仅使用电子烟者的尼古丁代谢物平均浓度高于非烟草使用者。尼古丁电子烟使用者的总尼古丁当量-2 [TNE2；平均值（95%置信区间），21.8（15.2 - 31.2）对0.2（0.1 - 0.6）nmol/mg肌酐，P < 0.0001]和可替宁[1418.2（998.0 - 2015.4）对12.2（0.1 - 0.6），P < 0.0001] ng/mg肌酐，P < 0.0001]浓度高于非尼古丁电子烟使用者。尼古丁水平为1.8%至4.9%的电子烟产品使用者的TNE2和可替宁水平高于使用0.1%至1.7%的使用者，不过在调整协变量后差异不显著。与非烟草使用者相比，吸尼古丁电子烟者的铅浓度更高（校正P = 0.01）。
含尼古丁电子烟使用者的尼古丁代谢物水平高于不含尼古丁的电子烟使用者和非烟草使用者。未来研究需要调查不同尼古丁水平下使用电子烟对健康的影响。
规范电子烟中的尼古丁含量对于控制尼古丁接触以及潜在减轻相关健康风险可能至关重要。
