Summary
Introduction. The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has been
increasing among adolescents in the United States since they were first
introduced to the U.S. market in 2007. With depression as a major risk
factor for suicide in adolescents, this study examined nicotine dependence
from the use of e-cigarettes and depressive symptoms among
adolescents.
Methods.xThe authors conducted a retrospective patient chart review
at a pediatric clinic in the Midwestern United States, from May 2021
to September 2021. As a standard practice, the clinic uses the adapted
Penn State Nicotine Dependency Index to evaluate its patients’ nicotine
dependence from the use of e-cigarettes, and the PHQ-9 modified
for teens to screen for depressive symptoms of its patients. Data on 69
patients were included in the study. The authors used standard descriptive
statistics and an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) to analyze the data on
the 69 adolescents.
Results. The mean age of the adolescents was 17.6 (SD = 2.3), 46.4%
(n = 32) were female, and 53.6% (n = 37) were male. More than 88%
(n = 61) of the adolescents met criteria for high nicotine dependence
from e-cigarette use and 30.4% (21 of 69) of them screened positive
for depression. Findings of the analyses indicated that there was not a
statistically significant association between nicotine dependence from
e-cigarette use and depressive symptoms (aOR = 1.07; 95% confidence
interval, 0.93-1.23; p = 0.297).
Conclusions. The results showed that while a third of the adolescents
screened positive for depression and the majority (88%) depended
on nicotine from e-cigarettes, there was no association between the
outcomes. Future larger multicenter studies are needed to better understand
the association between nicotine dependence from e-cigarettes
and depressive symptoms as reported in the literature.
Citation
Winburn C, Ofei-Dodoo S. Nicotine Dependence from Electronic Cigarettes Use and Depressive Symptoms among adolescents. Kansas journal of medicine. 2023;16:1-4. doi:10.17161/kjm.vol16.18723
