High likelihood for chronic stress among young e-cigarette users
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Key takeaways:
- Vapers demonstrated greater odds for self-reported extreme chronic stress than nonvapers.
- Further, e-cigarette users had a nonsignificant increased likelihood for worse quality of life.
E-cigarette use appeared linked to heightened odds for extreme chronic stress among teen and young adult vapers, according to a presentation at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
“Life stress can lead to the development of or worsening of mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression,” Teresa To, PhD, MSc, BSc, senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children and professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at University of Toronto, both in Toronto, Canada, told Healio. “Early identification may prevent the young population with high stress from resorting to other means to cope with stress including regular or e-cigarette smoking, recreational drugs or alcohol. Clinicians seeing young patients who smoke (regular or e-cigarettes) should also assess their mental health and also encourage them to quit smoking.”
In a Canadian cross-sectional analysis, To and colleagues evaluated 115 individuals who used e-cigarettes and 790 individuals who did not report use of e-cigarettes, all aged 15 years to 30 years, to assess how this product impacts different aspects of quality of life using multivariable binary or ordinal logistic regressions.
Researchers collected responses from all individuals on physical activity, physiological measurements, self-perceived stress, mental health and quality of life through surveys.
Between e-cigarette users and nonusers, users showed heightened odds for self-reported extreme chronic stress (adjusted OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 1.36-3.24) in a confounder-adjusted model.
In addition, vapers showed statistically significant elevated odds for being more physically active (aOR = 2.15; 95% CI, 1.12-4.12) than nonvapers, which To hypothesizes may be due to the belief that vaping will help with weight control.
Researchers did not find a significant link between e-cigarette use and quality of life; however, they noted an indication that vapers have an increased likelihood for worse quality of life (aOR = 1.13; 95% CI, 0.634-2.01) compared with nonvapers.
Another nonsignificant but notable finding according to researchers was the reduced likelihood for health morbidities, such as high blood pressure, blood sugar or low high-density lipoprotein levels, among e-cigarette users.
“Future research may need to follow young e-cigarette users to determine long-term health impact,” To told Healio.
“Smoking, whether it is regular cigarettes or e-cigarettes, is a modifiable behavior (or risk factor) and it may be associated with significant long-term health risks,” she added. “We should 1) raise the awareness of the potential harmful health effects of vaping, 2) develop and implement evidence-based strategies to prevent and reduce vaping (especially in youths) and 3) provide means and support to help those who vape to quit.”
Reference:
- Young people who vape more likely to report chronic stress. https://www.ersnet.org/news-and-features/news/young-people-who-vape-more-likely-to-report-chronic-stress/. Published Sept. 12, 2023. Accessed Sept. 12, 2023.