Increased Risk of Heart Rhythm Abnormalities in Adolescents and Young Adults Who Vape

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities is increased in adolescents and young adults (AYA) who vape. STUDY DESIGN: We used data from the TriNetX network to identify 2 groups of AYA (11-24 years old). The first group included individuals who vaped and the second group was a comparison of individuals who did not report vaping. Individuals in the vaping group were matched 1:1 with those in the comparison group using propensity scores. The primary outcome was the association between vaping and diagnoses of heart rhythm abnormalities. We analyzed data from 114 404 patients (57 202 in each group) with no significant differences in baseline characteristics. RESULTS: Patients who vaped had 82% greater odds of being diagnosed with heart rhythm abnormalities compared with those who did not vape (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.74-1.91, P < .001). Furthermore, the hazard of developing heart rhythm abnormalities was approximately twice as high among those who vaped compared with those who did not (hazard ratio 1.97, 95% CI 1.88-2.06, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between e-cigarette use and an increased risk of heart rhythm abnormalities in AYA. These findings highlight the potentially harmful cardiac electrophysiological outcomes of vaping in this population and underscore the importance of health interventions and surveillance.