TY - JOUR
T1 - Menthol tobacco use is correlated with mental health symptoms in a national sample of young adults
T2 - implications for future health risks and policy recommendations
AU - Cohn, Amy M.
AU - Johnson, Amanda L.
AU - Hair, Elizabeth
AU - Rath, Jessica M.
AU - Villanti, Andrea C.
PY - 2016/1/8
Y1 - 2016/1/8
N2 - Background: Depression and anxiety are correlated with greater nicotine dependence, smoking persistence, and relapse back to smoking after a quit attempt. Menthol cigarette smoking, which is prevalent in young adults, is associated with nicotine dependence, progression to regular smoking, and worse cessation outcomes than non-menthol smoking. Few have established a link between menthol tobacco use, beyond just smoking, with mental health in this high-risk age group. This study examined the association of menthol tobacco use to anxiety and depression in a national sample of young adults. Methods: Data were from Waves 1 through 7 (n = 9720, weighted) of the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort, a national sample of men and women aged 18 to 34 assessed every 6-months. Demographics, past 30-day use of non-menthol and menthol tobacco products, and current alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use were assessed among those with depression and anxiety. Results: Thirty nine percent of current tobacco users used menthol as their preferred brand. Using a cross-sectional analysis (collapsed across waves), past 30-day menthol tobacco was uniquely associated with greater odds of both depression and anxiety, beyond the effects of demographic and substance correlates and non-menthol tobacco product use. Conclusions: Menthol is disproportionately used among young adults tobacco users with mental health problems, above and beyond the impact of a variety of other mental health and tobacco use risk factors. Findings suggest a strong link between menthol tobacco use and poor health outcomes. Policies should be developed to deter menthol tobacco use in vulnerable groups.
AB - Background: Depression and anxiety are correlated with greater nicotine dependence, smoking persistence, and relapse back to smoking after a quit attempt. Menthol cigarette smoking, which is prevalent in young adults, is associated with nicotine dependence, progression to regular smoking, and worse cessation outcomes than non-menthol smoking. Few have established a link between menthol tobacco use, beyond just smoking, with mental health in this high-risk age group. This study examined the association of menthol tobacco use to anxiety and depression in a national sample of young adults. Methods: Data were from Waves 1 through 7 (n = 9720, weighted) of the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort, a national sample of men and women aged 18 to 34 assessed every 6-months. Demographics, past 30-day use of non-menthol and menthol tobacco products, and current alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use were assessed among those with depression and anxiety. Results: Thirty nine percent of current tobacco users used menthol as their preferred brand. Using a cross-sectional analysis (collapsed across waves), past 30-day menthol tobacco was uniquely associated with greater odds of both depression and anxiety, beyond the effects of demographic and substance correlates and non-menthol tobacco product use. Conclusions: Menthol is disproportionately used among young adults tobacco users with mental health problems, above and beyond the impact of a variety of other mental health and tobacco use risk factors. Findings suggest a strong link between menthol tobacco use and poor health outcomes. Policies should be developed to deter menthol tobacco use in vulnerable groups.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depression
KW - Mental health
KW - Menthol
KW - Young adults
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84953790774&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84953790774&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12971-015-0066-3
DO - 10.1186/s12971-015-0066-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84953790774
SN - 1617-9625
SN - 2070-7266
VL - 14
JO - Tobacco Induced Diseases
JF - Tobacco Induced Diseases
IS - 1
M1 - 66
ER -