Neighborhood Characteristics and the Burden of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use-Associated Lung Injury: An Ecological Comparison Study.

Abstract

Purpose: E-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) is a severe consequence of vaping first described in 2019. Investigating associations between neighborhood-level characteristics and EVALI cases is an important step in identifying at-risk communities to implement future targeted prevention programs. Methods: We retrospectively identified 41 adolescents <19 years hospitalized for treatment for EVALI at Children's Medical Center Dallas from December 2018 to June 2021. Patient ZIP codes were extracted from the electronic medical record and were compared with Dallas area ZIP codes containing no EVALI cases. Socioeconomic status (SES) characteristics were obtained from the 2019 American Community Survey, and they were mapped for ZIP codes using ESRI ArcMap geospatial processing software. A parallel analysis was conducted utilizing data of adolescents hospitalized with appendicitis. Results: Ninety-five percent of our cohort used tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products, and 66% obtained their vaping products from informal sources. EVALI cases were less likely to reside in higher SES ZIP codes as measured by the proportion of the population with at least a high school education (odds ratio [OR]: 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92-0.99), access to broadband access (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91-0.99), and private health insurance (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95-0.99). Alternatively, they were more likely to reside in lower SES ZIP codes as measured by proportion of the population without any health insurance (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01-1.12). No neighborhood level low SES characteristics were associated with appendicitis hospitalizations. Conclusions: Although small in magnitude, EVALI cases were associated with lower SES ZIP codes but not with vape shop density.