Increased Risk of Heart Rhythm Abnormalities in Adolescents and Young Adults who Vape: A Retrospective Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Background Vaping among adolescents and young adults (AYA) could affect cardiovascular health. While pulmonary outcomes of vaping are well-documented, the link between vaping and abnormalities of heart rhythm remains unclear. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to test the hypothesis that the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities is increased in AYA who vape. Methods We used data from the TriNetX network to identify two cohorts of AYA (11 to 24 years old). The first cohort included individuals who vaped, and the second cohort was a comparison of individuals who did not report vaping. Individuals in the vaping cohort were matched 1:1 with those in the comparison cohort using propensity scores. The primary outcome was the association between vaping and diagnoses of heart rhythm abnormalities. The study analyzed data from 114,404 patients (57,202 in each cohort) with no significant differences in baseline characteristics. Results Patients who vaped had 82% higher odds of being diagnosed with heart rhythm abnormalities compared to those who did not vape (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.74-1.91, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the hazard of developing heart rhythm abnormalities was approximately twice as high among vapers compared to those who did not (HR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.88-2.06, p < 0.001). Conclusion This study shows a significant 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.