A recent study published in JAMA Network Open suggests that among pregnant adolescents, the use of e-cigarettes during late pregnancy is not statistically significantly associated with an increased risk of small for gestational age births. The research, led by Xiaozhong Wen, MD, PhD, an associate professor at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo, indicates that while e-cigarettes are noncombustible and lack some of the toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke, caution is still warranted.
The cohort study, utilizing data from 10,428 pregnant adolescent females aged 10 to 19 in the U.S. between 2016 and 2021, examined the relationship between e-cigarette and cigarette use during the last 3 months of pregnancy and the likelihood of small for gestational age births.
The prevalence of exclusive e-cigarette use during late pregnancy increased from 0.8% to 4.1% from 2016 to 2021, while exclusive cigarette use decreased from 9.2% in 2017 to 3.2% in 2021. The study noted fluctuations in dual use of both e-cigarettes and cigarettes, ranging from 0.6% to 1.6%.
White pregnant adolescents were found to be 2.7% more likely to use e-cigarettes compared with adolescents from other racial backgrounds.
The study found no statistically significant difference in the risk of small for gestational age births between nonusers and those who used only e-cigarettes or both e-cigarettes and cigarettes. However, pregnant adolescents who used only cigarettes showed a more than twofold higher risk for small for gestational age births compared to nonusers.
While the study suggests no statistically significant association between e-cigarette use and small neonates, the researchers caution that the low prevalence of use and limited sample size warrant careful interpretation. They suggest that future research with a larger sample size may provide more clarity on the potential impact of e-cigarette use during pregnancy.
