“Acute effects of tobacco cigarettes (TCIG) vs. electronic cigarettes (ECIG) in People Living with HIV (PWH)”
PI: Holly R. Middlekauff, MD
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in people with HIV (PWH) in the United States. One major cause of heart disease is commercial cigarette smoking. This study tested whether switching to electronic cigarettes would have less harmful effects on certain risk factors for heart disease. Thirty-seven PWH participated in almost 100 experimental sessions. In these sessions, each participant used (puffed on) an electronic cigarette, a commercial cigarette, or a straw (a “control”, meaning no tobacco or nicotine) on different days. Heart rate variability (HRV), a marker for risk for heart disease, was recorded before and after each use of the cigarettes or straw control. Bigger changes in HRV suggest higher risk for heart disease. HRV was compared between the electronic cigarette, commercial cigarette, and straw control to see if there were any differences. The study found that there were smaller changes in HRV after using the electronic cigarette compared to commercial cigarette. While any form of cigarette smoking carries risk for heart disease, for PWH who do smoke, more studies should be done to see if electronic cigarettes may have less risk for heart disease than commercial cigarettes. People with HIV are an important population to understand this in, as they are disproportionately affected by tobacco-related health inequalities.
To view the full article, please visit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11265994/