Impact of electronic cigarette ever use on lung function in adults aged 45–85: a cross-sectional analysis from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

OBJECTIVE: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics associated with e-cigarette ever use and to examine the impact of e-cigarette ever use on lung function impairment in an ageing population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. SETTING: A national stratified sample of 44 817 adults living in Canadian provinces. PARTICIPANTS: Respondents included participants aged 45–85 and residing in the community in Canadian provinces. OUTCOME MEASURES: The Global Lung Function Initiative normative values for forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory ratio (FEV(1)/FVC) appropriate for age, sex, height and ethnicity were used to interpret the severity of lung function impairment. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the impact of e-cigarette ever use on obstructive and restrictive lung function impairment. RESULTS: The prevalence of e-cigarette ever use was 6.5% and varied by sociodemographic factors including higher prevalence among individuals younger than 65 years, those with lower education attainment and those with lower annual household income. E-cigarette ever use was associated with 2.10 (95% CI 1.57 to 2.08) times higher odds of obstructive lung function impairment after adjusting for conventional cigarette smoking and other covariates. Individuals with exposure to e-cigarette ever use and 15 or more pack-years had 7.43 (95% CI 5.30 to 10.38) times higher odds for obstructive lung function impairment when compared with non-smokers and non-e-cigarette users after adjusting for covariates. Smokers with 15 or more pack-years had higher odds of restrictive lung function impairment irrespective of e-cigarette ever use. CONCLUSIONS: Ever use of e-cigarettes was found to be associated with obstructive lung function impairment after adjusting for covariates, suggesting that e-cigarette use may be adding to the respiratory and other chronic disease burden in the population.