Sexual Minority Youth E-Cigarette Use

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Tobacco Control

Background:

• Sexual minority youth (SMY) exhibit higher traditional cigarette use compared to non-SMY peers.
• Less is known about e-cigarette use patterns among SMY, particularly concerning racial, ethnic, and sex-based differences.
• This study addresses the gap in understanding e-cigarette use among diverse SMY populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine e-cigarette use prevalence across different sexual identity categories.
• To investigate the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and sex in relation to e-cigarette use among youth.
• To identify specific disparities in e-cigarette use within sexual minority populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2020 and 2021 National Youth Tobacco Surveys (N=16,633 high school students).
• Calculated current e-cigarette use prevalence by sexual identity and racial/ethnic subgroups.
• Employed multivariable logistic regression to analyze associations between sexual identity, e-cigarette use, race, ethnicity, and sex.

Main Results:

• E-cigarette use was more prevalent in most racial and ethnic SMY groups compared to their non-SMY counterparts.
• Multivariable analysis revealed varied associations, with some SMY groups showing significantly higher odds of e-cigarette use.
• Specifically, Black gay/lesbian and bisexual students had higher odds than Black heterosexual students. Non-Hispanic Black females showed lower odds than non-Hispanic white males, while non-Hispanic other gay/lesbian youth had higher odds than non-Hispanic white heterosexuals.

Conclusions:

• E-cigarette use is demonstrably more common among sexual minority youth.
• Significant disparities in e-cigarette use exist within SMY populations, influenced by intersecting factors of race, ethnicity, and sex.
• Targeted interventions are needed to address these nuanced disparities in adolescent e-cigarette use.