Comparative evaluation of ambulatory blood pressure responses to effort among electronic cigarette smokers and non-smokers

• Grant number: 24/07150-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Lucas Porto Santos
• Grantee: Taís de Oliveira Ramos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Electronic cigarettes are smoking devices that allow the user to inhale various forms of heated aerosols that have not undergone combustion. With their rapid popularization, especially among young people, and the lack of definitive information on their safety, the use of these devices is worrying from a clinical and public health perspective. Because of its recent appearance- in the mid-2000s-, there has not yet been time to produce evidence on the safety and effects of their long-term use. However, recent studies have accumulated evidence that e-cigarettes pose risks to users' cardiovascular health, which is relevant in an epidemiological scenario where cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the global population. In this sense, identifying the need to produce scientific evidence on the subject, this comparative study aims to analyze the sub-acute responses of ambulatory blood pressure (ABPM) after physical exertion between two groups, e-cigarette users and non-smokers. Considering blood pressure responses to stress as markers of individuals' cardiovascular health, the aim is to understand the possible deleterious effects of e-cigarettes on these physiological responses. In this way, this study will potentially contribute to the accumulation of evidence and scientific advances in this area.