Understanding The Effects Of Vaping On Exercise Participation: A Meta-analysis Of Existing Literature

The association between exercise and vaping remains unclear due to inconsistent findings and a lack of robust primary evidence. Some studies suggest a positive correlation between vaping and increased physical activity, while others indicate that vape users are less likely to engage in regular exercise. Given the current interest in vaping, a comprehensive synthesis of current literature could provide insights into the relationship between vaping and exercise. PURPOSE: To synthesize the existing literature on the relationship between vaping and exercise participations using meta-analysis. METHODS: Four database (PubMed, SPORTDIscus, Web of Science, CINAHL) were searched for relevant literature using keywords representing vaping and exercise. Studies were deemed eligible if they reported a measure of participation in exercise of current vapers and utilized odds ratio in their analysis. A total of 16,899 articles were identified through the systematic search and 8 articles met the inclusion criteria. Summarized effect of vaping on exercise participation were estimated under the random effect model using meta-analysis techniques. RESULTS: The included studies resulted in a combined sample size of 508,207, aged 13-25.5 years old. Included studies utilized secondary data from national surveillance systems. The summarized effect size revealed an odds ratio of 1.34 (95% CI [1.02, 1.78], p = .04), suggesting that participants who vaped were more likely to participate in exercise than non-vapers. High Q value (Q-1135.28) and I2 value (I2 = 99.38) suggested heterogeneity among the included studies. However, publication bias was not found among the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between vaping and exercise participation. Many factors impacted the participation of exercise in relationship to vaping. Therefore, further research is needed to examine the relationship between vaping and exercise among various age groups and populations.