E-cigarette users twice as likely to have depression compared to non users: JAMA

The prevalence of the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has grown rapidly lately since their introduction to the market more than a decade ago. While several studies have demonstrated an association between E-cigarettes and lung diseases, the association between e-cigarette use and depression has not been thoroughly studied.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found in a new study that E-cigarette users were twice as likely than people who had never used e-cigarettes to report having clinical depression. The study was published in JAMA Network Open and is available online.

The research has been funded through the Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science of the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives.

In this cross-sectional study of 892 394 participants in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2016 to 2017, e-cigarette users had higher odds of reporting a history of clinical diagnosis of depression compared with participants who never used e-cigarettes. In addition, increased frequency of e-cigarette use was associated with incrementally higher odds of reporting depression.

Researchers found:

• Current e-cigarettes users were more than twice as likely to report having clinical depression than people who had never used e-cigarettes – 34% vs. 15%.


• Former e-cigarette users were more likely to report having clinical depression than people who had never used e-cigarettes, but to a lesser degree – 27% vs. 15%.


• Results were similar in men and women and across different ethnic groups.

The findings also didn’t differ much across age groups, but the correlation of current e-cigarette use and depression was highest among college-age students — 18 to 25. Researchers conducted a targeted sub-study of this population because of previous findings that college students are more likely to explore new products, including e-cigarettes. Also, tobacco companies tailor marketing strategies to this group.

“This highlights the potential susceptibility of e-cigarette users in this group to depression at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives, but also warrants pause in what this kind of nicotine addiction may be doing to our children, high schoolers and younger, who we know are using e-cigarettes in epidemic proportions,” said Mariell Jessup, M.D., FAHA, American Heart Association Chief Science and Medical Officer. “Mental health plays an important role in overall health and wellbeing and this connection of e-cigarettes and depression raises even more concern about how these products will impact public health for generations to come.”

The researchers write that their findings, “…warrant careful and thorough evaluation of e-cigarette use in both youth and adults with depression. Physicians should consider a routine collection of information pertaining to e-cigarette use during clinic visits, especially in patients with depression, and routine counselling for those who use e-cigarettes, offering support to those who express willingness to quit.”

Researchers said the study provides additional evidence to establish an association between e-cigarette use and depression, which could have potentially significant implications for public health, clinical practice and health policy. The potential mental health consequences may also have regulatory implications for novel tobacco products.

Journal-JAMA Network Open

For Further reference log on to :

DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.16800