Low birth weight, preterm delivery seen particularly among individuals using e-cigarettes daily
THURSDAY, July 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Electronic cigarette use during pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes, according to a study published online in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Annette K. Regan, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Texas A&M University in College Station, and colleagues used data from the 2016 to 2018 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to evaluate the association between e-cigarette use during the three months before and last three months of pregnancy as well as birth outcomes among 79,176 individuals.
The researchers found that in the three months before pregnancy, 2.7 percent of respondents reported e-cigarette use, while 1.1 percent used e-cigarettes during the last three months of pregnancy. There was no association observed between e-cigarette use before pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes. However, e-cigarette use during pregnancy was associated with a higher prevalence of low birth weight versus nonuse (8.1 versus 6.1 percent; adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.33). E-cigarette use was associated with a higher prevalence of low birth weight (aPR, 1.88) and preterm birth (aPR, 1.69) among respondents who did not also smoke combustible cigarettes during pregnancy. These associations were strongest for daily e-cigarette users.
“These findings show that e-cigarettes should not be considered a safe alternative to regular cigarettes and that there are potentially very real health risks from vaping when it comes to pregnancy,” Regan said in a statement.
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