Written by Jessica Patella, ND. This study found that both active and passive smoking, and E-cigarette smoking were positively associated with asthma in the past 12 months in Korean adolescents. However, for lifetime asthma, the study found associations that were significant for active and passive smoking, suggesting a need for evaluating the effects of active and passive E-cigarette smoking as well.
The research data was from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior study from 2011-2013. Asthma was diagnosed by a doctor for this study. In total, 211,155 children were part of the study with an average age of 15 (+/- 1.8) years.
In total 2.3% of the participants were diagnosed with asthma in the past 12-months by a physician 1. Amongst all the participants in the study, the prevalence of active smoking was 10.8%, passive smoking was 35.0% and e-cigarette smoking was 8.0% 1.
The results for asthma amongst all the participants in the study in the past 12 months were as follows:
- Active smoking was significantly associated with asthma
- (95% CI of smoking ≥20 days/month = 1.57 [1.38–77], P < 0.001).
- Passive smoking was significantly associated with asthma
- (95% CI of smoking ≥5 days/week = 1.40 [1.28–53], P < 0.001).
- E-cigarette was also significantly associated with asthma
- (95% CI of smoking = 1.12 [1.01–26], P = 0.027).
- Although the effects of past smoking history could not be excluded
Another recent study conducted in Florida adolescents found similar findings, that adolescents smoking e-cigarettes had significantly higher rates of asthma (AOR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.17–2.05 in metropolitan residents; AOR = 2.20, 95%CI = 1.47–3.31 in rural residents) 1,2. Specifically,among students with asthma, e-cigarette use was more common among those in non-metropolitan and rural counties than those in metropolitan counties (p<0.05).
In conclusion, active, passive and e-cigarette use were associated with asthma in the past 12-months in adolescents. While this was a correlational study, the large population database gives it strength. Researchers also felt that more research on long-term effects of e-cigarettes need to be conducted 1.
Source: Kim, So Young, Songyong Sim, and Hyo Geun Choi. “Active, passive, and electronic cigarette smoking is associated with asthma in adolescents.” Scientific reports 7, no. 1 (2017): 17789.
© Open Access Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Posted August 21, 2019.
References:
- Kim SY, Sim S, Choi HG. Active, passive, and electronic cigarette smoking is associated with asthma in adolescents. Scientific reports. 2017;7(1):17789.
- Choi K, Bernat D. E-cigarette use among Florida youth with and without asthma. American journal of preventive medicine. 2016;51(4):446-453.
