HONOLULU – and asthma is especially exacerbated in SGM persons who use e-cigarettes compared with heterosexuals.
These findings come from a study of asthma severity among SGM people, with a special focus on the contribution of tobacco, reported Tugba Kaplan, MD, a resident in internal medicine at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, Md.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assessing asthma severity among SGM people in a nationally representative longitudinal cohort study,” she said in an oral abstract session at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST).
There has been only limited research on the health status and health needs of SGM people, and most of the studies conducted have focused on issues such as HIV/AIDS, sexual health, and substance use, not respiratory health, she said.
Following the PATH
Dr. Kaplan and colleagues drew on data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort study with data on approximately 46,000 adults and adolescents in the United States.
The study uses self-reported data on tobacco use patterns; perceptions of risk and attitudes toward tobacco products; tobacco initiation, cessation, and relapse; and associated health outcomes.
The investigators combined data from three waves of the PATH Study, conducted from 2015 to 2019 on nonpregnant participants aged 18 years and older, and used mixed-effect logistic regression models to look for potential associations between sexual orientation and asthma severity.
They used standard definitions of asthma severity, based on lung function impairment measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity, nighttime awakenings, use of a short-acting beta2-agonist for symptoms, interference with normal activity, and exacerbations requiring oral systemic corticosteroids.
The study also includes a sexual orientation question, asking participants, “do you consider yourself to be ...” with the options “straight, lesbian or gay, bisexual, something else, don’t know, or refused.”
Based on these responses, Dr. Kaplan and colleagues studied a total sample of 1,815 people who identify as SGM and 12,879 who identify as non-SGM.
Risks increased
In an analysis adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, tobacco use, body mass index, physical activity, and asthma medication use, the authors found that, compared with non-SGM people, SGM respondents were significantly more likely to have had asthma attacks requiring steroid use in the past years (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-2.15), asthma interfering with daily activities in the past month (OR, 1.33; CI, 1.10-1.61), and shortness of breath in any week over the 30 days (OR, 1.82; CI, 1.32-2.51). There was no significant difference between the groups in inhaler use over the past month, however.
They also found two interactions in the logistic regression models, one between urgent care visits and respondents who reported using both regular tobacco and e-cigarettes (dual users), and between exclusive e-cigarette use and waking up at night.
Among dual users, SGM respondents had a nearly fourfold greater risk for asthma attacks requiring urgent care visits, compared with non-SGM respondents (OR, 3.89; CI, 1.99-7.63). In contrast, among those who never used tobacco, there were no significant differences between the sexual orientation groups in regard to asthma attacks requiring urgent care visits.
Among those who reported using e-cigarettes exclusively, SGM respondents were nearly eight times more likely to report night awakening, compared with non-SGM users (OR, 7.81; CI, 2.93-20.8).
Among never users, in contrast, there was no significant difference in nighttime disturbances.