association Between e-Cigarette Use and Depression in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2016-2017.

Introduction:
This text provides an analysis of a study examining the association between e-cigarette use and depression in a nationally representative sample of the adult population in the United States. The study uses data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database from 2016 to 2017. The study's objective is to determine if there is a link between e-cigarette use and depression, and if so, to examine the strength and direction of that association.

Key Points:

* The study surveyed a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States, with a total of 892 394 participants.
* The study defined e-cigarette use status as never, former, or current use.
* The study defined the main outcome as self-reported history of a clinical diagnosis of depression.
* Current e-cigarette users were more likely to be single, male, younger than 40 years, and current combustible cigarette smokers.
* The study found that former e-cigarette users had 1.60-fold higher odds of reporting a history of clinical diagnosis of depression than never users, and current e-cigarette users had 2.10 times higher odds.
* The study also found that higher odds of reporting depression were observed with increased frequency of use among current e-cigarette users.
* The study found similar results in subgroup analyses by sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, and student status.

Main Message:
The study found a significant cross-sectional association between e-cigarette use and depression, highlighting the need for prospective studies to analyze the longitudinal risk of depression with e-cigarette use. If confirmed, the potential mental health consequences may have regulatory implications for novel tobacco products. The findings suggest that e-cigarette use may be a risk factor for depression, and that this association may be bidirectional. Therefore, it is essential to consider the potential mental health impacts of e-cigarette use in regulatory decision-making.

Obisesan Oh, Mirbolouk M, Osei aD, et al. association Between e-Cigarette Use and Depression in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2016-2017. JaMa network open. 2019;2(12):1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.16800