Association between the dual use of electronic and conventional cigarettes and NAFLD status in Korean men

Minjung Han; Seogsong Jeong; Jihun Song; Sun Jae Park; Cheol Min Lee; Kiheon Lee; Sang Min Park

doi:10.18332/tid/159167

Association between the dual use of electronic and conventional cigarettes and NAFLD status in Korean men

Tob Induc Dis. 2023 Feb 24:21:31. doi: 10.18332/tid/159167. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Minjung Han¹, Seogsong Jeong^{2

3}, Jihun Song⁴, Sun Jae Park⁴, Cheol Min Lee^{5

6}, Kiheon Lee^{6

7}, Sang Min Park^{4

6

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Biomedical Informatics, CHA University School of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
³ Institute for Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Family Medicine, Healthcare System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁷ Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Introduction: This study investigated the association between smoking types, including dual use (usage of both combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) status in Korean men.

Methods: Data from the 7th and 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2016-2020 were used. The presence of NAFLD was defined by the respective cut-off values for the Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI), NAFLD Ridge Score (NRS), and Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey NAFLD score (KNS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the associations between smoking types and NAFLD as determined by HSI, NRS, and KNS.

Results: After adjustment for confounders, an independent association was observed between dual use and NAFLD (HSI: AOR=1.47; 95% CI: 1.08-1.99, p=0.014; NRS: AOR=2.21; 95% CI: 1.70-2.86, p=0.000; KNS: AOR=1.35; 95% CI: 1.01-1.81, p=0.045). Cigarette only smokers also had significantly higher odds of NAFLD compared to never smokers for all of the NAFLD indices (HSI: AOR=1.22; 95% CI: 1.05-1.42, p=0.008; NRS: AOR=2.13; 95% CI: 1.87-2.42, p=0.000; KNS: AOR=1.33; 95% CI: 1.14-1.55, p=0.000). In subgroup analyses, no significant interaction effects were found for age, BMI, alcohol consumption, income, physical activity, and the diagnosis of T2DM. Moreover, cigarette only smokers and dual users differed significantly in terms of log-transformed urine cotinine and pack-years. The relationship between smoking type and pack-years was attenuated after stratification by age.

Conclusions: This study shows that the dual use of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes is associated with NAFLD. Age differences may explain why dual users, with a greater proportion of young people, appear to have fewer pack-years than cigarette only smokers. Further research should be conducted to investigate the adverse effects of dual use on hepatic steatosis.

Keywords: dual use; electronic inhalable products; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; scoring systems; smoking.