Vaping may spur chronic stress in young people: Study

London: Young people who used e-cigarettes are more than twice as likely to report chronic stress, finds a study.

The research, presented at European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy was conducted on 905 people from Canada aged between 15 and 30 out of which 115 people used e-cigarettes.

The study indicated that young people who use e-cigarettes have a poorer quality of life. Stress is known to induce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body which play an important role in the risk of developing chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“Chronic stress can lead to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. It’s important for young people experiencing chronic stress to be given support early on to help them avoid resorting to unhealthy coping mechanisms like vaping or smoking,” said Dr Teresa To, a senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada.

“Vaping is not an effective way to cope with stress, but stress and anxiety can trigger vape cravings, and make it harder for a user to quit,” she added.

The researchers point out that while their study shows a link between vaping and stress in young people, it does not show whether stress caused an increase in vaping, or whether vaping increased experiences of stress, or if another factor led to an increase in both.

However, their research did take into account other factors that are known to influence stress, such as income, alcohol consumption and health conditions like asthma and diabetes.

Interestingly, people who vaped were also more likely to be physically active and are more likely to report experiencing extreme chronic stress in their lives, according to the study.

“We do not know why young people using e-cigarettes tend to be more physically active, but it could be that they are trying to control their weight with exercise and believe vaping could help,” To added.

Further, the findings also showed lower risks of some signs of ill health, such as high blood pressure, although these findings did not reach statistical significance.

“At the time of the study, this group of young people had good physical health overall; however, we need to study the effects of e-cigarettes in the longer term to understand their impact on young people’s health,” To said.