Study: Athletic Participation Linked to Increased Odds of Vaping

Teenagers who play team sports are more likely to vape, according to new research.

Vaping increases the risk of respiratory problems and can be deadly in rare cases.

A study in the journal Pediatrics examined more than 30,000 high school students and found that while kids who participated in team sports were less likely to smoke, they were more likely to vape than other kids.

A recent story from MedicalXpress.com detailed the study’s findings about high school student-athletes being found more like to vape.

Below is an excerpt from the MedicalXpress.com story.

Eli Rapoport, from the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues analyzed the 2015 to 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey cohorts in a cross-sectional study to examine the associations between sports team participation and past 30-day exclusive cigarette use, exclusive EVP use, and dual cigarette/EVP use among high school students.

Data were included for 16,790 sports team participants (1.7 percent exclusive cigarette users, 18.3 percent exclusive EVP users, and 5.5 percent dual users) and 13,972 nonparticipants (3.1, 13.4, and 7.6 percent, respectively). The researchers found that the odds of cigarette use and dual use were lower in association with sports team participation (adjusted odds ratios, 0.58 and 0.74, respectively), while the odds of EVP use were higher (adjusted odds ratio, 1.39). Sports team participation was associated with lower odds of frequent (≥20 days in the past month) than intermittent (one to 19 days in the past month) cigarette use and EVP use among exclusive cigarette users and EVP users (adjusted odds ratios, 0.30 and 0.74, respectively).

“Given the known pulmonary health risks associated with EVP use, as well as the consequences of these health issues on athletic performance, aggressive efforts must be taken to educate student-athletes, particularly those participating in high-contact sports, about the demonstrated (and suspected) health risks of EVP use,” the authors write.

To read the full story from MedicalXpress.com about high school student-athletes and vaping, click here.