Introduction
This study examined the association between age of initiation of cigarette use and
increased risk of lifetime major depressive episode.
Methods
This study utilized publicly available data from the 2013 National Survey on Drug
Use and Health involving a nationally representative sample of interviews of 55,160
randomly selected people aged ≥12 years. Analysis was conducted in 2016. Age of initiation
of cigarette use was divided into four groups (≤12 years, 13–14 years, 15–18 years,
and >18 years). Eligible participants included adults aged ≥18 years who had ever
smoked a cigarette and had non-missing data for all analytic variables (n=23,906). Associations between lifetime major depressive episode and covariates were
assessed using chi-square tests. Logistic regression was used to calculate crude ORs
and AORs with 95% CIs.
Results
About half of participants reported starting cigarette use when they were aged 15–18
years. Compared with the group that initiated cigarette use at age ≤12 years, all
other age groups were from 25% to almost 50% less likely to report a lifetime major
depressive episode.
Conclusions
Early age of onset of cigarette use is associated with increased likelihood of experiencing
a lifetime major depressive episode. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms
driving this association.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 16, 2016
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of American Journal of Preventive Medicine
