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E-cigarette Use and Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis.
- Source :
-
Cureus [Cureus] 2024 May 03; Vol. 16 (5), pp. e59591. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 03 (Print Publication: 2024). - Publication Year :
- 2024
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Abstract
- E-cigarettes have been known to cause varied poor health outcomes prior to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but after the impact of COVID-19, evidence came out that was, in some instances, not as expected regarding the severity of COVID-19 among e-cigarette users (vapers). A meta-analysis was performed on the available evidence to comprehensively find the effect of COVID-19 on existing or past e-cigarette users (vapers). The Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines were used to perform this meta-analysis. PubMed was searched for observational studies that described outcomes after COVID-19 positivity from December 1, 2019, to December 2023. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords were used for searching the relevant studies highlighting the relationship between COVID-19 and e-cigarette users. Calculations for pooled prevalence, 95% confidence interval (95% CI), weights for current e-cigarette users and vapers, and outcomes (events) were made. To analyze the data, Review Manager V.5.4 was used. The I² statistic was used to assess statistical heterogeneity. The I² statistic of >50% was considered significant heterogeneity. The "leave-one-out" method was used for sensitivity analysis. Out of 3231 studies, four studies reported data on vaping and non-vaping status and composite outcomes, resulting in a sample size of 653 COVID-19-positive cases. The pooled prevalence of being COVID-19 positive, having symptoms, or visiting an emergency room was 7.78% (653/8392). COVID-19 patients with current vaping status had decreased odds of poor outcomes compared to non-smokers, with a pooled odds ratio (OR) of 0.09 (95% CI 0.00-2.42; p>0.05) with heterogeneity between studies (I²=99%, p=0.15). Because of difficulties related to data collection and other factors, this meta-analysis was unable to conclusively establish the correlation between e-cigarette usage and severe COVID-19 outcomes such as hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit, and fatality. Additional research using more detailed data is necessary to fully understand this correlation.<br />Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.<br /> (Copyright © 2024, Valadez-Cuen et al.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2168-8184
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Cureus
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38832202
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.59591