Vaping and Sleep as Predictors of Adolescent Suicidality

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined adolescent self-reported suicidality, vaping, and sleep quantity. We investigated sleep quantity as a moderator of vaping and multiple aspects of suicidality (thoughts, plans, and attempts). Methods: This study utilized responses from 10,520 adolescents with complete data on the primary outcome of suicide attempt in the past year in the 2019 Youth Risk Behaviors Survey. Logistic regression was utilized to estimate the main effects of vaping in the past 30 days, sleep hours on school nights, and the interaction of vaping and sleep on suicide attempts (primary outcome), suicidal thoughts (secondary outcome), and suicide plans (secondary outcome). Results: Students who vaped had 2.78 times the odds of a suicide attempt in the last year compared to students who did not vape. Students who slept less than seven hours had 1.93 times the odds of a suicide attempt in the last year compared to students who slept seven or more hours. Sleep quantity moderated the relationship between vaping and suicidal thoughts in the past year but did not moderate the relationship between vaping and a suicide plan or suicide attempts. Specifically, vaping had a reduced effect on suicidal thoughts among students who slept under seven hours. Conclusions: Students who vape or report low sleep quantity would be ideal participants in suicide prevention interventions as they may be at higher risk for suicidality. Organizations implementing sleep or vaping interventions should incorporate information regarding the higher odds of suicide among students with low sleep quantity or vaping habits.