Impact of vaping versus traditional cigarettes on muscle power and respiratory function

Characteristics	VU (n = 40)	CS (n = 40)	NS (n = 40)	P-value
Demographics
Age (years)	49.5 ± 6.2	50.2 ± 6.3	49.8 ± 6.1	0.891
BMI (kg/m²)	24.4 ± 2.7	24.6 ± 2.8	24.3 ± 2.6	0.901
Smoking history
Duration (years)	10.5 ± 2.9	22.8 ± 7.1	-	<0.001*
Packs/day equivalent	1.56 ± 0.15	1.02 ± 0.12	-	<0.001*
Pack-years equivalent	16.4 ± 4.5	23.3 ± 7.2	-	<0.001*
Nicotine exposure (mg/day)	45.0 ± 1.5	28.8 ± 1.2	-	<0.001*

1 ANOVA, analysis of variance; BMI, body mass index; CS, cigarette smokers; NS, non-smokers; SD, standard deviation Data are presented as mean ± SD. One-way ANOVA for three-group comparisons; Independent t-test for two-group comparisons.

1* P < 0.001 indicates significant difference.

Table 2.

Functional capacity and muscle strength outcomes

Outcome measures	VU	CS	NS	P-value
Handgrip strength (kg)	26.3 ± 1.8	22.9 ± 1.7	33.5 ± 1.9	<0.001*
6-minute walk distance (m)	481.5 ± 47.8	437.8 ± 51.9	509.6 ± 46.3	<0.001*
mMRC dyspnoea score (0–4)	1.2 ± 0.5	2.1 ± 0.6	0.8 ± 0.4	<0.001*

1 ANOVA, analysis of variance; CS, cigarette smokers; mMRC, modified Medical Research Council; NS, non-smokers; SD, standard deviation; VU, vape users.

1 Data are presented as mean ± SD. One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test.

1* P < 0.001 for overall ANOVA.

1 † All pairwise comparisons significant at P < 0.05.

Table 3.

Correlation between smoking exposure and functional outcomes in CS

Variables	Handgrip strength		6MWT distance		Dyspnoea score
	r	P	r	P	R	P
Duration (years)	-0.58	<0.01	-0.67	<0.01	0.52	<0.05
Pack-years	-0.62	<0.01	-0.71	<0.01	0.55	<0.01
Packs/day	-0.48	<0.01	-0.53	<0.01	0.41	<0.05
Nicotine exposure (mg/day)	-0.21	-0.21	-0.24	-0.24	0.18	0.18

1 6MWT, six-minute walk test; CS, cigarette smokers.

Table 4.

Correlation between vaping exposure and functional outcomes in VU

Variables	Handgrip strength		6MWT distance		Dyspnoea score
	R	P	r	P	r	P
Duration (years)	-0.52	<0.05	-0.61	<0.01	0.45	<0.05
Pack-years equivalent	-0.55	<0.01	-0.64	<0.01	0.48	<0.05
Packs/day equivalent	-0.44	<0.01	-0.49	<0.01	0.38	<0.05
Nicotine exposure (mg/day)	-0.35	<0.05	-0.42	<0.05	0.32	0.32

1 6MWT, six-minute walk test; VU, vape users.

1 Pearson correlation coefficient (r).

Table 5.

Correlations between functional outcome measures

Groups	Handgrip versus 6MWT		Handgrip versus dyspnoea		6MWT versus dyspnoea
	r	P	r	P	R	P
CS (n = 40)	0.86	<0.01	-0.73	<0.01	-0.81	<0.01
VU (n = 40)	0.82	<0.01	-0.68	<0.01	-0.75	<0.01
NS (n = 40)	0.83	<0.01	-0.65	<0.01	-0.72	<0.01

1 6MWT, six-minute walk test; CS, cigarette smokers; NS, non-smokers.

1 Pearson correlation coefficient (r). All correlations highly significant (P < 0.01).

Table 6.

Traditional CS only (N = 40)

Variable	Age (years)	BMI (kg/m²)	Smoking duration	Pack-years	Nicotine level	Dyspnoea score	Hand grip strength	6MWT distance
Age (years)	1.00	0.12	0.85**	0.82**	-0.08	0.45*	-0.52*	-0.61**
BMI (kg/m²)	0.12	1.00	0.15	0.18	0.22	0.31	-0.28	-0.35*
Smoking duration	0.85**	0.15	1.00	0.95**	-0.12	0.52*	-0.58**	-0.67**
Pack-years	0.82**	0.18	0.95**	1.00	-0.15	0.55**	-0.62**	-0.71**
Nicotine level	-0.08	0.22	-0.12	-0.15	1.00	0.18	-0.21	-0.24
Dyspnoea score	0.45*	0.31	0.52*	0.55**	0.18	1.00	-0.73**	-0.81**
Hand grip strength	-0.52*	-0.28	-0.58**	-0.62**	-0.21	-0.73**	1.00	0.86**
6MWT distance	-0.61**	-0.35*	-0.67**	-0.71**	-0.24	-0.81**	0.86**	1.00

1 6MWT, six-minute walk test; BMI, body mass index; CS, cigarette smokers.

1 Strong cumulative exposure effects: Pack-years correlate with dyspnoea (r = 0.55) and reduced walking distance (r = -0.71). Pearson correlation,

1* P < 0.05,

1** P < 0.01.

Table 7.

E-cigarette (vape) users only (N = 40)

Variable	Age (years)	BMI (kg/m²)	Usage duration	Pack-years	Nicotine level	Dyspnoea score	Hand grip strength	6MWT distance
Age (years)	1.00	0.18	0.78**	0.75**	-0.15	0.38*	-0.45*	-0.52*
BMI	0.18	1.00	0.22	0.25	0.18	0.28	-0.32	-0.41*
Usage duration	0.78**	0.22	1.00	0.92**	-0.08	0.45*	-0.52*	-0.61**
Pack-years	0.75**	0.25	0.92**	1.00	-0.12	0.48*	-0.55**	-0.64**
Nicotine level	-0.15	0.18	-0.08	-0.12	1.00	0.32	-0.35*	-0.42*
Dyspnoea score	0.38*	0.28	0.45*	0.48*	0.32	1.00	-0.68**	-0.75**
Hand grip strength	-0.45*	-0.32	-0.52*	-0.55**	-0.35*	-0.68**	1.00	0.82**
6MWT distance	-0.52*	-0.41*	-0.61**	-0.64**	-0.42*	-0.75**	0.82**	1.00

1 BMI, body mass index; 6MWT, six-minute walk test.

1 Nicotine level shows stronger effects in VU (r = -0.42 with walking) than traditional smokers. Pearson correlation,

1* P < 0.05,

1** P < 0.01.

Table 8.

NS only (N = 40)

Variable	Age (years)	BMI (kg/m²)	Dyspnoea score	Hand grip strength	6MWT distance
Age (years)	1.00	0.14	0.22	-0.28	-0.35*
BMI (kg/m²)	0.14	1.00	0.25	-0.30	-0.38*
Dyspnoea score	0.22	0.25	1.00	-0.65**	-0.72**
Hand grip strength	-0.28	-0.30	-0.65**	1.00	0.83**
6MWT distance	-0.35*	-0.38*	-0.72**	0.83**	1.00

1 6MWT, six-minute walk test; BMI, body mass index; NS, non-smokers.

1 Even in NS, hand grip strongly predicts walking capacity (r = 0.83). Age and BMI show expected mild negative correlations. Pearson correlation,

1* P < 0.05,

1** P < 0.01.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pneum-2025-0034 | Journal eISSN: 2247-059X | Journal ISSN: 2067-2993

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Language: English, Romanian

Page range: 112 - 119

Published on: Jan 12, 2026

Published by: Romanian Society of Pneumology

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: Volume open

Keywords:

vaping,

Related subjects:

Clinical medicine, other,

Internal medicine,

Pneumology

© 2026 Shaden Mohamed Abdel-Latif, Heba Helmy Aboel naga, Magdy Mostafa Ahmed, Lamis Ahmed Osama Ghaly, published by Romanian Society of Pneumology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 74 (2025): Issue 1 (January 2025)