Association between exclusive or dual use of combustible cigarettes and heated tobacco products and depressive symptoms
2025

Tobacco Products and Depression

Sample size: 5349 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Lee Bo Gyeong, Lee Haein, Kim Namhee

Primary Institution: College of Nursing, Daegu Catholic University

Hypothesis

This study aimed to determine associations between the use of combustible cigarettes and heated tobacco products with depressive symptoms.

Conclusion

All smokers have a higher risk of depression than non-smokers.

Supporting Evidence

  • HTP-only users had the highest proportion of those with anhedonia and depressed mood.
  • CC-only users had the highest proportion of individuals with trouble sleeping.
  • Dual users had a higher proportion of those with fatigue and appetite problems.
  • Compared to non-users, CC-only users were more likely to have mild and moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

Takeaway

Using tobacco products like cigarettes and heated tobacco can make people feel sad and depressed.

Methodology

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to reliance on self-reported data and retrospective classification of tobacco use.

Limitations

The study is cross-sectional, limiting causal inferences, and it used secondary data which did not include actual smoking amounts.

Participant Demographics

Participants were 5,349 adults aged 19 years or older, with a majority being non-users of tobacco products.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.001

Confidence Interval

95% CI = 1.13–1.79 for mild depressive symptoms; 95% CI = 1.57–2.92 for moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0314558

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