Vaping and psychotic experiences among college students in the United States.

Introduction:
This text summarizes a study on the relationship between vaping and psychotic experiences among college students in the United States. The study analyzed data from the healthy Minds Survey and used multiple logistic regression models to examine the associations between vaping and psychotic experiences, adjusting for various factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, cigarette and marijuana use, and mental health.

Key Points:

* The study found that vaping was significantly associated with psychotic experiences, even after accounting for combustible cigarette and marijuana use, and after adjusting for depression and anxiety.
* The study used an abbreviated version of the World health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview Psychosis Screen to measure psychotic experiences.
* Vaping was measured using a single dichotomous (yes/no) item: "Over the past 30 days, have you used an electronic cigarette or vape pen?"
* Combustible cigarette use was assessed using an ordinal item, and a dichotomous variable was created to reflect any cigarette use over the past 30 days.
* Marijuana use was assessed using a single binary item (yes/no) that asked: Over the past 30 days, have you used marijuana?
* Depression was measured using the Patient health questionnaire – 9, and anxiety was measured using the General anxiety Disorder – 7.
* The study controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, including gender, race/ethnicity, and age.

Main Message:
The main message of the study is that vaping is significantly associated with psychotic experiences among college students, even after accounting for various factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, cigarette and marijuana use, and mental health. This finding highlights the need for further research on the potential neuropsychiatric effects of vaping and the importance of preventing vaping among young adults. The study also emphasizes the need for healthcare providers to be aware of the potential relationship between vaping and psychotic experiences and to screen for vaping use in patients with psychotic symptoms. Overall, the study suggests that vaping may be a more significant public health concern than previously thought, particularly among young adults.

Oh h, Banawa R, Lee JO, Zhou S, huh J. Vaping and psychotic experiences among college students in the United States. Drug and alcohol dependence. 2021;227:108987. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108987