Study Links Vaping Switch to 7% Higher Eye Disease Risk in 32,316 Former Smokers
Updated
Updated · Medscape · Jun 22
Study Links Vaping Switch to 7% Higher Eye Disease Risk in 32,316 Former Smokers
3 articles · Updated · Medscape · Jun 22
Summary
32,316 former smokers in South Korea who switched from cigarettes to noncombustible nicotine products showed a 7% higher risk of major vision-impairing eye disease than those who quit nicotine entirely.
4.6 years of average follow-up produced 6,328 new cases, with incidence at 44 per 1,000 person-years among switchers versus 41.1 among complete quitters.
Diabetic retinopathy showed the largest increase, with a 24% higher risk in switchers, while refractive and accommodation disorders also rose significantly.
The retrospective insurance-database study, published June 13 in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, relied on self-reported tobacco use and involved a cohort that was 97.6% male, limiting broader generalization.