Associations Between Tobacco Use Patterns and Demographic Characteristics of Sexual Minority and Het
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Hart
JL, Ridner SL, Wood LA, Walker KL, Groom A, Kesh A, Landry RL, Payne TJ, Ma JZ,
Robertson RM, Hart PE, Giachello AL, Vu TT.
Associations Between
Tobacco Use Patterns and Demographic Characteristics of Sexual Minority and
Heterosexual Youth: Results from a Nationwide Online Survey.
Tob Prev Cessat. 2020 Dec 15;6:69. doi: 10.18332/tpc/130348. PMID: 33336121;
PMCID: PMC7737560.
Introduction.
Youth are at risk for tobacco use, and previous research has pointed to
increased vulnerabilities associated with sexual minority identity. For
example, LGB youth have increased odds for using tobacco than their
heterosexual peers, and bisexual youth have higher odds of smoking than other
sexual identity groups. As new tobacco products proliferate and health risks from
dual/poly use grow, increased understanding of tobacco use patterns by sexual
minority youth is needed.
Methods.
For 3117 youth, aged 13-18 years, who completed an online questionnaire in 2017
and identified their sexual orientation [minority (e.g. lesbian/gay, bisexual,
or pansexual) vs majority (heterosexual)] and gender, we classified current
tobacco use into four categories: e-cigarette only, other product only (such as
cigarette, cigar, or smokeless tobacco; not an e-cigarette), dual/poly use, and
no use. Analyses were conducted separately for male and female participants.
Multinomial logistic regression was employed.
Results.
Female sexual minority youth had nearly twofold odds of dual/ poly tobacco use
(OR=1.95; 95% CI: 1.12-3.40), compared to their heterosexual counterparts. For
male youth, sexual minority identification was not significantly associated
with dual/poly use. No significant differences were found in sexual minority
and heterosexual youth e-cigarette only or other tobacco only use groups.
Tobacco use patterns also significantly differed by age, race, place of
residence, and parental education level.
Conclusions.
Study findings reveal greater odds of dual/poly tobacco use for female sexual
minority youth. Tailored tobacco prevention and cessation programs or
interventions are needed for sexual minority youth most at risk of tobacco use,
especially multiple product use.
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