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Depression, substance use increasing among former smokers
The prevalence of major depression, binge drinking and marijuana use among former smokers has increased in recent years, according to findings published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“The reason this is noteworthy, particularly among former smokers, from both a clinical and public health perspective, is that other recent data have shown that depression, cannabis and alcohol use are associated with increased risk of relapse and so coupled with a rapid increase among former smokers, this trend could threaten progress to date in tobacco control at a population level,” Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, an adjunct professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, told Healio Primary Care.
Goodwin and colleagues collected data on former smokers in the United States from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2002 through 2016. In the study, former smokers were defined those who smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime but did not use a cigarette in the year before the survey.
Survey responses from 67,035 former smokers aged 18 years or older were included in analyses.
Among former smokers, major depression increased from 4.88% in 2005 to 6.04% in 2016 (adjusted OR = 1.01, 95% CI, 1-1.03).
The prevalence of marijuana use in the last 12 months almost doubled among former smokers, from 5.35% in 2002 to 10.09% in 2016 (adjusted OR = 1.08, 95% CI, 1.07-1.09).
The rate of former smokers who reported binge-drinking within the past month increased from 17.22% to 22.33% (adjusted OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02-1.04) between 2002 and 2016.
During the study period, the rate of alcohol abuse or dependence in the past year did not change from 2002 to 2016.
“Screening for depression and common substance use in patients who are former smokers is and may become increasingly important to guard against relapse to cigarette use both in the early and later stages of abstinence,” Goodwin told Healio Primary Care. “Informing former smokers of risks associated with relapse to cigarette use conferred by cannabis and alcohol use, as well as depression, and offering treatment for these where appropriate may have multiple benefits.” – by Erin Michael
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.