JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The American Lung Association is looking for young adults in Jacksonville to help them unlock the mysteries of lung disease, the third leading cause of death in the United States.
If you're a healthy 25 to 35-year-old living in Jacksonville, you have the chance to help the American Lung Association answer questions they have about how the next generation will be impacted by lung disease.
The goal of this 5-year study is to find solutions to prevent lung disease in the future, instead of waiting until patients develop lung cancer symptoms later in life.
Researchers say young adults may be more likely to develop lung disease later in life just because they grew up in the 21st century.
Factors such as vaping, increase of air pollution and having COVID-19 are things that Dr. Kallhan predicts will impact younger patients later on.
"While they [vapes] make people feel better, they don't reverse many processes," said American Lung Association Principal Investigator Dr. Ravi. "They don't turn back the clock on lung disease. So, I as a lung doctor, what could we do to figure out that this person, when they were younger, was on a bad path?"
The association's biggest concern for young adults today are the effects of vaping. Kallhan adds how there isn't a lot of data to show the long-lasting impacts of patients who vape.
Through their surveys, the American Lung Association found that one out of five young people vape. The association has also seen more users and the number of lung injuries increase over the past two years.
While researchers know the chemicals found in vapes can be linked to serious lung diseases, they don't know the mid to long-term consequences simply because it's a new product.
"And if they are at risk for problems because they vape, I want to understand how we can intercept those problems from becoming bigger problems or causing shortness of breath in the long run," said Kallhan.
To hopefully develop treatment for the future issues vaping and other respiratory factors young people are facing, the American Lung Association will pay young adults to participate in their study that will occur over the next five years.
You can find the link to see if you meet the study qualifications and sign up here.