Exposure-response analysis of the association of maternal smoking and use of electronic cigarettes (vaping) in relation to preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age in a national US sample, 2016–2018

Introduction

The US experienced a surge in use of e-cigarettes. Smoking women may consider e-cigarettes during pregnancy as an alternative to smoking. E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, an established cause of reduction in fetal growth in animal studies.

Methods

This cohort study included 99,201 mothers who delivered live singletons in 2016–2018 from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. We created exposure categories based on self-reported number of cigarettes smoked per day and vaping frequency and evaluated their associations with preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth (two established cigarette smoking-related risks).

Results

Dual users in late pregnancy were a heterogeneous group: 29% lightly smoked and occasionally vaped; 19% lightly smoked and frequently vaped; 36% heavily smoked and occasionally vaped; and 15% heavily smoked and frequently vaped. While dual users who heavily smoked and occasionally vaped had the highest adjusted OR for SGA (3.4, 95% CI 2.0, 5.7), all the dual users had, on average, about twice the odds of having SGA than non-users. While the risks of preterm birth were higher among sole light smokers (adjusted OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1, 1.5) and sole heavy smokers (adjusted OR 1.5. 95% CI 1.2, 1.8) than non-users, the adjusted odds of preterm birth for dual users were not noticeably higher than those of non-users.

Conclusion

Relative to non-users, both smoking and vaping during pregnancy appear to increase risk of SGA, but excess risk of preterm birth appears to be primarily attributable to smoking alone. Higher levels of exposure tended to confer more risk.