Electronic cigarettes and insulin resistance in animals and humans: Results of a controlled animal study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2013-2016).

• Main Authors: Olusola A Orimoloye, S M Iftekhar Uddin, Lung-Chi Chen, Albert D Osei, Mohammadhassan Mirbolouk, Marina V Malovichko, Israel D Sithu, Omar Dzaye, Daniel J Conklin, Sanjay Srivastava, Michael J Blaha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226744

BACKGROUND:The popularity of electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) has risen considerably. Several studies have suggested that nicotine may affect insulin resistance, however, the impact of E-cigarette exposure on insulin resistance, an early measure of cardiometabolic risk, is not known. METHODS AND RESULTS:Using experimental animals and human data obtained from 3,989 participants of the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), respectively, we assessed the association between E-cigarette and conventional cigarette exposures and insulin resistance, as modelled using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and glucose tolerance tests (GTT). C57BL6/J mice (on standard chow diet) exposed to E-cigarette aerosol or mainstream cigarette smoke (MCS) for 12 weeks showed HOMA-IR and GTT levels comparable with filtered air-exposed controls. In the NHANES cohort, there was no significant association between defined tobacco product use categories (non-users; sole E-cigarette users; cigarette smokers and dual users) and insulin resistance. Compared with non-users of e-cigarettes/conventional cigarettes, sole E-cigarette users showed no significant difference in HOMA-IR or GTT levels following adjustment for age, sex, race, physical activity, alcohol use and BMI. CONCLUSION:E-cigarettes do not appear to be linked with insulin resistance. Our findings may inform future studies assessing potential cardiometabolic harms associated with E-cigarette use.