E-Cigarette Use Is Associated with Increased Psychological Distress among Youth
A Pooled Cross-Sectional Analysis of State-Level Data from 2019 and 2021
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15484538 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christopher Cambron (0000-0002-6129-0959, University of Utah, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 18 |
| Pages | 11726-11726 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-17 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph191811726 |
| PMID | 36142001 |
| OpenAlex | W4296354239 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 31 |
A crisis of worsening youth mental health in recent years across the United States has created alarm among health professionals. As a result, health professionals have sought to improve methods of identifying youth in need of treatment services. Cigarette, cannabis, and alcohol use each consistently serve as behavioral markers of risk for youth mental health problems. Despite the recent growth of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youth, few studies have examined whether e-cigarettes follow the same associational pattern with mental health problems in the context of other substance use. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the associations between youth substance use and mental health problems due to both reduced overall use and increased mental health problems after the onset of the pandemic. The current study examined associations between youth substance use and psychological distress before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic using two state-representative samples of youth in grades 8, 10, and 12 from 2019 (N = 58,689) and 2021 (N = 46,823) from Utah. Pooled cross-sectional linear and negative binomial regression models clustered by grade, stratified by school district, and weighted to represent population characteristics estimated associations between recent e-cigarette, combustible cigarette, cannabis, and heavy alcohol use and two measures of psychological distress-depressive symptoms and mental health treatment needs. After controlling for sociodemographic factors and recent uses of other substances, results indicated that psychological distress increased from 2019 to 2021 and that recent e-cigarette, combustible cigarette, cannabis, and heavy alcohol use were each significantly associated with increased levels on both measures of psychological distress. Compared to other substances, e-cigarette use showed the strongest standardized associations. The association of e-cigarette use with depressive symptoms strengthened significantly from 2019 to 2021. Given the youth mental health crisis paired with the widespread adoption of e-cigarettes, health professionals should consider recent e-cigarette use an increasingly important behavioral marker for risks of mental health problems among youth. Results suggest that future research studies examining the temporal ordering of substance use and mental health among youth should include e-cigarettes
Cannabis · Context (archaeology · Cross-sectional study · Distress · Environmental health · Mental distress · Mental health · Population · Psychiatry · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Medicine · Psychology · Smoking Behavior and Cessation
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| Citations per year | 1.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |