A systematic review of the effects of e-cigarette use on lung function

Lucy Honeycutt; Katherine Huerne; Alanna Miller; Erica Wennberg; Kristian B Filion; Roland Grad; Andrea S Gershon; Carolyn Ells; Genevieve Gore; Andrea Benedetti; Brett Thombs; Mark J Eisenberg

doi:10.1038/s41533-022-00311-w

A systematic review of the effects of e-cigarette use on lung function

NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. 2022 Oct 22;32(1):45. doi: 10.1038/s41533-022-00311-w.

Authors

Lucy Honeycutt¹, Katherine Huerne^{1

2}, Alanna Miller¹, Erica Wennberg¹, Kristian B Filion^{1

3}, Roland Grad^{1

4}, Andrea S Gershon⁵, Carolyn Ells^{1

2

4}, Genevieve Gore⁶, Andrea Benedetti^{3

7}, Brett Thombs^{1

3

8}, Mark J Eisenberg^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital/McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
² Biomedical Ethics Unit, Departments of Medicine and Social Studies of Medicine, and Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
³ Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁵ Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁷ Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁸ Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁹ Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital/McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. mark.eisenberg@mcgill.ca.
¹⁰ Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. mark.eisenberg@mcgill.ca.
¹¹ Division of Cardiology, Jewish General Hospital/McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. mark.eisenberg@mcgill.ca.

Abstract

Given the increasing use of e-cigarettes and uncertainty surrounding their safety, we conducted a systematic review to determine the effects of e-cigarettes on measures of lung function. We systematically searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases via Ovid, the Cochrane CENTRAL database, and the Web of Science Core from 2004 until July 2021, identifying 8856 potentially eligible studies. A total of eight studies (seven studying immediate effects and one long-term effects, 273 total participants) were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I) and Cochrane risk of bias tools. These studies suggest that vaping increases airway resistance but does not appear to impact forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁₎, forced vital capacity (FVC), or FEV₁/FVC ratio. However, given the limited size and follow-up duration of these studies, larger, long-term studies are required to further determine the effects of e-cigarettes on lung function.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems*
Forced Expiratory Volume
Humans
Lung
Vaping* / adverse effects
Vital Capacity

Grants and funding

HEV-172891/CIHR/Canada