ArticleTherapeutic advances in chronic disease2020
COPD smokers who switched to e-cigarettes: health outcomes at 5-year follow up.
Article in Therapeutic advances in chronic disease, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of electronic cigarette use and risk of COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Chronic health effects associated with electronic cigarette use: A systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Cardiopulmonary effects of combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Improved aerobic capacity in a randomized controlled trial of noncombustible nicotine and tobacco products.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Changes in biomarkers of exposure and withdrawal symptom among Chinese adult smokers after completely or partially switching from combustible cigarettes to an electronic nicotine delivery system.Internal and emergency medicine · 2024Trial
- Examining acute psychopharmacological effects of nicotine vaping versus heated tobacco products in a randomised crossover study of product naïve adult smokers.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Comparing the Effectiveness, Tolerability, and Acceptability of Heated Tobacco Products and Refillable Electronic Cigarettes for Cigarette Substitution (CEASEFIRE): Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Trial
- Reductions in biomarkers of exposure to selected harmful and potentially harmful constituents following exclusive and partial switching from combustible cigarettes to mybluInternal and emergency medicine · 2022Trial
- Smoking cessation in emergency departments: a reality check.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Review
- Respiratory outcomes in Korean COPD patients using e-cigarettes: methodological and interpretive limitations.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Response to "Respiratory outcomes in Korean COPD patients using e-cigarettes: methodological and interpretive limitations".Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Human Primary Mesenchymal Stem Cells Fail to Recover Full Osteogenic Differentiation Potential Following Washout of Electronic Cigarette Aerosol Extracts.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Tobacco smoke but not e-cigarette vapor induces epithelial barrier disruption, inflammation, and DNA damage in human Calu-3 cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- E-cigarette use and smoking-related disparities in England: an observational study using small area estimation and nonparametric regression.Harm reduction journal · 2026Observational
- E-cigarette switching in COPD: reduced cardiovascular events without improvement in respiratory outcomes.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Predictors of e-cigarette usage among individuals with asthma and COPD.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Non-pharmacologic Prevention of Acute Exacerbation Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases · 2025Article
- International Expert Consensus on Relevant Health and Functioning Concepts to Assess in Users of Tobacco and Nicotine Products: Delphi Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Dual Use of Electronic Cigarettes and Cigarettes Elevates Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Mental Health Issues: Insights from a Korean Health Survey.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Article
- Delphi consensus methodology to gauge expert perspectives on smoking prevention, cessation and harm reduction in Italy.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsThe long-term health effects of the use of electronic cigarettes (ECs) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are largely unexplored. We present findings from a 5-year prospective assessment of respiratory parameters in a cohort of COPD patients who substantially reduced conventional smoking or achieved abstinence by switching to ECs.
methodsPatients were evaluated prospectively for their measurements of respiratory exacerbations, spirometric indices, quality of life using the COPD assessment tool (CAT), 6-min walk distance (6MWD), as well as conventional cigarette consumption. Baseline measurements prior to switching to EC use were compared with follow-up visits at 12-, 24-, 48- and 60-months. Age- and sex-matched COPD patients reporting to be regular smokers (not using ECs) were the reference group for the analysis.
resultsComplete data were available from 39 patients. Those in the EC user group achieved a marked decline in cigarette smoking or abstinence. COPD EC users had a significant diminution in COPD exacerbations; with the mean (±SD) exacerbation rate falling from 2.3 (±0.9) at baseline to 1.1 (±1.0) at 5 years (
conclusionThe present study suggests that EC use may ameliorate objective and subjective COPD outcomes, and that the benefits gained appear to persist long term. EC use for abstinence and smoking reduction may ameliorate some of the harm resulting from tobacco smoking in COPD patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.