E-Cigarette Use Linked to Increased Odds of Prediabetes

THURSDAY, March 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Use of electronic cigarettes is associated with an increased likelihood of prediabetes, according to a study published online March 3 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Zhenyu Zhang, Ph.D., from the Peking University School of Public Health in Beijing, China, and colleagues examined whether e-cigarette use is associated with the risk for prediabetes using data from participants who completed the prediabetes and e-cigarette modules of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (2016 to 2018). Of the 600,046 respondents, 28.6 percent were younger than 35 years.

The researchers found that the prevalence of prediabetes was 9.0, 5.9, and 10.2 percent among current e-cigarette users, sole e-cigarette users, and dual users, respectively. The odds ratios for prediabetes were 1.22 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.10 to 1.37) and 1.12 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.19) for current e-cigarette users and former e-cigarette users, respectively, compared with never e-cigarette users in the fully adjusted model. The corresponding odds ratios were 1.54 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.17 to 2.04) and 1.14 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.34) for sole e-cigarette users and dual users.

"Our study demonstrated a clear association of prediabetes risk with the use of e-cigarettes," one coauthor said in a statement. "With both e-cigarette use and prevalence of prediabetes dramatically on the rise in the past decade, our discovery that e-cigarettes carry a similar risk to traditional cigarettes with respect to diabetes is important for understanding and treating vulnerable individuals."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)