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. 2018 Dec;57(12):944-954.e4.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.06.029. Epub 2018 Oct 4.

Mental Health Problems and Onset of Tobacco Use Among 12- to 24-Year-Olds in the PATH Study

Victoria R Green  1 , Kevin P Conway  2 , Marushka L Silveira  3 , Karin A Kasza  4 , Amy Cohn  5 , K Michael Cummings  6 , Cassandra A Stanton  7 , Priscilla Callahan-Lyon  8 , Wendy Slavit  8 , James D Sargent  9 , Nahla Hilmi  1 , Raymond S Niaura  5 , Chad J Reissig  8 , Elizabeth Lambert  2 , Izabella Zandberg  8 , Mary F Brunette  9 , Susanne E Tanski  9 , Nicolette Borek  8 , Andrew J Hyland  4 , Wilson M Compton  2
Affiliations

Mental Health Problems and Onset of Tobacco Use Among 12- to 24-Year-Olds in the PATH Study

Victoria R Green et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether mental health problems predict incident use of 12 different tobacco products in a nationally representative sample of youth and young adults.

Method: This study analyzed Wave (W) 1 and W2 data from 10,533 12- to 24-year-old W1 never tobacco users in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Self-reported lifetime internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed at W1. Past 12-month use of cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), traditional cigars, cigarillos, filtered cigars, pipe, hookah, snus pouches, other smokeless tobacco, bidis and kreteks (youth only), and dissolvable tobacco was assessed at W2.

Results: In multivariable regression analyses, high-severity W1 internalizing (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.3-1.8) and externalizing (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1-1.5) problems predicted W2 onset of any tobacco use compared to no/low/moderate severity. High-severity W1 internalizing problems predicted W2 use onset across most tobacco products. High-severity W1 externalizing problems predicted onset of any tobacco (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.3-1.8), cigarettes (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0-2.0), ENDS (AOR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.5-2.1), and cigarillos (AOR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0-2.1) among youth only.

Conclusion: Internalizing and externalizing problems predicted onset of any tobacco use. However, findings differed for internalizing and externalizing problems across tobacco products, and by age, gender, and race/ethnicity. In addition to screening for tobacco product use, health care providers should screen for a range of mental health problems as a predictor of tobacco use. Interventions addressing mental health problems may prevent youth from initiating tobacco use.

Keywords: epidemiologic studies; mental health; tobacco; young adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

Drs. Conway, Silveira, Cohn, Stanton, Callahan-Lyon, Sargent, Niaura, Reissig, Zandberg, Brunette, Tanski, Borek, Hyland, and Mss. Green, Kasza, Slavit, Hilmi, Lambert report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
New Tobacco Product Use at Wave 2 by Lifetime Severity of Externalizing Problems at Wave 1 stratified by Age (i.e. youth versus young adults) in the PATH Study Population of interest: Wave 1 youth (12–17, N=9,067) and young adults (18–24, N=1,466) who never used any tobacco at Wave 1; estimates weighted using W2 longitudinal weights Age (i.e. youth (12–17) vs adult (18–24)) by lifetime severity externalizing problems interactions significant at p<.05. Age-stratified data shown for proportions of new tobacco product use at Wave 2 by lifetime severity externalizing problems. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for gender, race/ethnicity, ever substance use, and lifetime internalizing problems at Wave 1. Statistically significant associations at p<0.05 indicated in bold text.
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