Year: 2023
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: This study explores the association between psychosocial stressors and current e-cigarette use among adolescents in the United States. METHODS: We used data from 12,767 participants in the 2019 National Youth Risk Behavioral Survey to examine the association between psychosocial stressors (bullying, sexual assault, safety-related absence from school, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, physical altercation, and weapon threats) and past-30-day e-cigarette use using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models. We examined the association for each stressor and then as a burden score (0-7). To compare the strength of the association between stressors and current e-cigarette use to current combustible cigarette use, we additionally examined the association between each stressor and current combustible cigarette use. RESULTS: Approximately 32.7% reported current e-cigarette use. The weighted prevalence of current e-cigarette use was higher among individuals who experienced stressors than those who did not. For example, bullying (43.9% vs. 29.0%). Similar prevalence patterns were seen among other stressors. Individuals who experienced stressors had significantly higher adjusted odds of current e-cigarette use than those who did not (OR [Odds Ratio] range: 1.47-1.75). Similarly, individuals with higher burden scores had a higher prevalence (zero [20.5%], one [32.8%], two [41.4%], three [49.6%], four to seven [60.9%]) and higher odds of current e-cigarette use (OR range: 1.43-2.73) than those with a score of zero. The strength of the association between the stressors and e-cigarette use was similar to that between the stressors and combustible cigarette use. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates a significant association between psychosocial stressors and adolescent e-cigarette use, highlighting the potential importance of interventions, such as targeted school-based programs that address stressors and promote stress management, as possible means of reducing adolescent e-cigarette use. Future research directions include exploring underlying mechanisms linking stressors to e-cigarette use and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions addressing stressors in reducing adolescent e-cigarette use.
Source: BMC Public Health
Institutions: American Heart Association, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Yale University, Boston University, New York University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Boston Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, University of Louisville
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,990
Awards: G146293445, American Heart Association Tobacco Regulation and Addiction Center (A-TRAC), Novel Methods for Evaluating the Association of Electronic Cigarette Use with Cardiovascular Health, G6031359796, University of Louisville Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences, G9000291477, Pathophysiology of Myocardial Disease, American Heart Association Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science (A-TRAC) 2.0
OpenAlex ID: W4379536648