age-Varying associations Between attempts to Lose Weight and Nicotine Vaping across adolescence: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample.

Introduction:
This article examines the relationship between weight loss behaviors and nicotine vaping in adolescents. The study uses data from the 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative sample of adolescents in the United States, to investigate whether there is an association between attempting to lose weight and nicotine vaping during adolescence, when this association emerges and is strongest, and whether there are sex differences in this link.

Key Points:

* The study uses time-varying effect modeling, an analytic method that estimates regression coefficients as a continuous function of age, to model dynamic associations between weight loss behavior and nicotine vaping across adolescence and sex differences in these links.
* Results revealed an age-varying association that differed by sex. Girls who were trying to lose weight were at a higher risk for past 30-day vaping from ages 14.2 to 15.9 years, with the strongest association at 14.8 years. For boys, this association was nonsignificant across age.
* Girls who were trying to lose weight were at a higher risk for frequent vaping (vaping on 20-30 of the past 30 days) from ages 15.2 to 17.1 years, with the strongest association at 16.1 years. This link was not meaningfully significant at any age for boys.
* The study found that girls, but not boys, who are trying to lose weight appear vulnerable to nicotine vaping during adolescence.

Main Message:
The study suggests that there are sensitive periods when adolescent girls who are attempting to lose weight may be vulnerable to engaging in nicotine vaping. The findings indicate that girls who are attempting to lose weight may benefit from prevention programs for vaping. The study also highlights the need for further research to understand the relationship between weight loss behaviors and nicotine vaping in adolescents, particularly among girls. Overall, the study underscores the importance of addressing nicotine vaping as a public health problem and the need for targeted interventions to reduce the prevalence of nicotine vaping among adolescents.

hochgraf aK, Fosco GM, Lanza ST. age-Varying associations Between attempts to Lose Weight and Nicotine Vaping across adolescence: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for adolescent Medicine. 2023;72(3):352-358. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.009