Long-term impact studied

In the first-of-its-kind longitudinal study of lung health among millennials, researchers will be examining the long-term impact of vaping on the lungs, reports Medpage Today.

Scientists from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, in partnership with the American Lung Association, plan to follow 4,000 healthy adults from the ages of 25 to 35 to gain insights into the causes of chronic respiratory diseases common in later life.

The first six years of the study will be funded by a $24.8 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

One of the goals of the study is to evaluate exposures relevant today as opposed to those that prevailed during the 1970s when prior studies were done, according.

Cigarette smoking among adults in the U.S. was 14 percent in 2017, compared with 33.2 percent in 1980. Vapor products, which are popular among young people today, did not exist at the time of the prior studies.

The study will also look at the impact of early-life air pollution exposures.