Respiratory therapy student looks at effects of vaping on lung capacity
What are the dangers of vaping, especially on young people?
Third-year respiratory therapy student Kaitlin Reilly received a UM undergraduate research award to work on a project this summer on the effects of e-cigarettes and vaping.
Dr. Nicole Brunton, assistant professor of respiratory therapy at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, led the study. She said that vaping has far surpassed cigarette smoking among youth in Canada, but that little research has been done in this area.
“Kaitlin and I dedicated much of the summer to reviewing the literature – dating back to 1957 – to develop an evidence-informed method for measuring diffusion capacity during exercise using modern tools and technology. Results from [this work] was a critical first step in investigating the impact of electronic cigarette use on developing lungs,” Brunton said.
Reilly also has a master of science degree in kinesiology from UM. She said she first connected with Brunton because she also came to respiratory therapy with a with a background in kinesiology.
We recently spoke to Reilly about her experience on the project.
When did you first become interested in respiratory therapy?
When I worked as a kinesiologist, I worked with individuals with many chronic conditions – comorbidities such as COPD, some heart failure and things like that, doing exercise training. What fascinated me about that was how each disease process overlaps, and if you treat one condition, you have to consider the other and how one treatment might affect the other. Through this work, I heard about respiratory therapy. I looked into it and thought it would be a great way to apply some of the skills that I learned in kinesiology – soft skills like communication and things like that – while also getting a clinical piece.
Also, respiratory therapists work in emergency situations, and I was drawn to that high octane piece of the job as well.
What did you learn working on the study with Dr. Brunton?
We worked on a project looking at diffusion capacity – or how well oxygen transfers from lungs into the bloodstream – for people who use e-cigarettes. So, if we exercise people on a bicycle and measure their diffusion capacity, how will it compare between people who vape and those who don’t vape? We want to measure pathologies or changes in the lungs to help make better-informed public health guidelines.
We’re also looking at whether there’s a way to work with the kinesiology faculty to see if we can work with them on this. They have some of the equipment, like treadmills, bikes and machines that can measure diffusion capacity, so I think it could be a great way for the faculties to collaborate.
What drew you to this research?
Public health is something that I’ve always had an interest in, especially prevention and screening. Part of my master’s work was working with Dr. Todd Duhamel, professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, and we were developing a protocol for screening heart disease in women specifically, because historically the screening tools we have are meant for male patients. I fully believe in a preventative approach to health and I believe in finding screening tools that are simple to use and easy to implement, something that can catch things as early as possible, and then also specific to the population.
Are you interested in continuing to do research?
Pursuing a PhD isn’t out of the realm of possibilities – I did my master’s, so that could be another steppingstone. But I think how it applies to clinical practice, at least as an RT, is knowing how to search for informed evidence-based information, and then finding novel ways to measure things. For example, with diffusion capacity, finding different ways that we can measure it that might be more sensitive to people who vape – and then being able to inform the public about new research, and help them make informed decisions for their health.