Medical trainees are vaping a lot—and it appears to be connected with their mental health

‘Vaping is bad for you’ is a message that may not be trickling down to medical trainees. But more than that, depression and binge drinking appear to go hand-in-hand with vaping use disorder in this population.In a poster presented at the recent annual conference of the American Psychiatric Association, a study found that close to 8% of trainees were current e-cigarette users, and more than half of those reported symptoms of e-cigarette use disorder.The study was part of the Global Vaping Study which was a multinational survey conducted between October 2020 and November 2021. It enrolled medical students, residents and fellows in Brazil, the United States and India.For this study, which included only the medical trainee respondents from Brazil and the U.S., the researchers focused on potential associations between e-cigarette use disorders and mental health conditions among medical trainees.A web-based survey was conducted in which there were 72 questions on sociodemographics and mental health, vaping and hookah use, as well as knowledge about these tobacco products.For both countries combined, there were a total of 7,526 respondents. Of these, there were 612 current e-cigarette users from Brazil, and 334 from the U.S. Of those who vaped, 57.8% reported symptoms of e-cigarette use disorder. It was found that depressive symptoms and monthly binge drinking were commonly associated with vaping use disorder. But there was no association with anxiety symptoms, marijuana and tobacco smoking during the previous month. The poster stated “the prevalence of e-cigarette use and use related disorders among medical trainees is high and frequently associated with mental health disorders.” It also stated, “Identifying and treating depression and alcohol use disorder among medical trainees could be crucial not only to prevent untreated individuals from turning to vaping as a means of coping with mental health issues, but also to achieve higher success rates for those willing to quit vaping.”This preliminary study didn’t address cultural aspects, but noted that higher family income, and being male were strongly associated with vaping use disorder. But a previous study by the same research team found that while e-cigarettes and hookahs were often used by Brazilian and American trainees, it was less common among trainees in India.

Medical trainees are vaping a lot—and it appears to be connected with their mental health

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