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Published on: January 18, 2018
Sexual Identity as a Moderator of the Association Between Serious Psychological Distress and E-Cigarette Use Among US
1Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.
Background:
Compared to adults without serious psychological distress (SPD), adults with SPD have higher e-cigarette use (i.e., nicotine vaping), and both SPD and vaping vary by sexual identity. This study examined whether sexual identity modified the association between SPD and e-cigarette use in a nationally representative US adult sample.
Methods:
Data included adults from the 2021-2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH; N = 139,524). Logistic regression models of past-month e-cigarette use, including an interaction term between serious psychological distress (measured with Kessler-6; no, yes) and sexual identity (heterosexual/straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual) were estimated, adjusted for survey year, sociodemographics, other tobacco use, and substance use. Moderation was evaluated using regression-based marginal effects.
Results:
Overall, 7.7% of adults experienced past-month serious psychological distress, 2.6% (weighted) identified as gay/lesbian, and 5.4% identified as bisexual. Overall, 7.7% reported past-month e-cigarette use. SPD was associated with higher odds of past-month e-cigarette use overall. Sexual identity was a significant moderator of this association (p < 0.001). Regression-based marginal effects indicated that SPD was associated with an increased predicted probability of e-cigarette use among heterosexual adults, but not among gay/lesbian or bisexual adults. However, bisexual adults exhibited the highest overall prevalence of e-cigarette use regardless of distress status.
Conclusions:
Serious psychological distress was associated with e-cigarette use, but the strength of this association differed by sexual identity. Findings highlight the importance of tailored e-cigarette prevention and cessation programs that recognize heterogeneity in e-cigarette use across sexual identity groups.
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