Conclusion
Electronic cigarette users have higher levels of inflammatory and cancer risk biomarker than non-smokers, suggesting that electronic cigarettes can pose a risk of developing systemic diseases but less than conventional cigarettes. In conclusion, our study could be regarded as new evidence supporting the hazardous effects of e-cigs using a cost-effective, non-invasive method.
Methods
One hundred and fifty people participated in this study; There were 50 participants who smoked traditional cigarettes, 50 who used electronic cigarettes, and 50 healthy people who had never smoked cigarettes (control group). Furthermore, 5 ml of unstimulated whole saliva was sampled and clarified by centrifugation and frozen until analysis. Interleukin-1β and transforming growth factor‑β concentrations were assessed in saliva samples using ELISA. The duplicate readings average was utilized to interpret the data.
Results
We found that cigarette smokers had significantly higher levels of interleukin-1β and transforming growth factor‑β than non-smokers and electronic cigarette users (p < 0.05). The difference between control participants and electronic cigarette users, as well as that between control participants and traditional cigarette smokers, was statistically significant (p < 0.05).