Factors Influencing Electronic Cigarette Use for Smoking Cessation among Adolescents in South Korea: The 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey

BACKGROUND: This study used the data of Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS) to confirm the relationship between electronic cigarette use for smoking cessation among Korean adolescents and demographic, health behavior, and school-life factors. METHODS: Data were taken from the 13th KYRBS in 2017. In this study on 62,276 adolescents, characteristics of 1,244 electronic cigarette users were compared with those of non-electronic cigarette users. The 1,244 adolescent electronic cigarette users were evaluated for characteristics related to smoking cessation. Among the related characteristics, demographic factors comprised sex, grade, economic status, weekly allowance, and residence type. Health status-related factors comprised physical activity, lifetime drinking experience, smoking amount, subjective health perception, and stress perception. School characteristics included school type, academic performance, and smoking cessation education. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed using complex sample analysis. RESULTS: The proportion of current electronic cigarette users was 2.2% (boys, 3.3%; girls, 0.9%). Of the 41.5% of cigarette users willing to quit smoking, 11% used electronic cigarettes for this purpose. Among the electronic cigarette users, characteristics related to smoking cessation were grade, weekly allowance, and residence type, but logistic regression analysis revealed that increases in grade (odds ratio [OR], 2.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–3.35) and living with family (OR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.89–9.18) were associated with smoking cessation. CONCLUSIONS: According to the 13th KYRBS in 2017, adolescents were likely to use electronic cigarette for smoking cessation when they are older and live with their families.

Factors Influencing Electronic Cigarette Use for Smoking Cessation among Adolescents in South Korea: The 13th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey

BACKGROUND@#This study used the data of Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS) to confirm the relationship between electronic cigarette use for smoking cessation among Korean adolescents and demographic, health behavior, and school-life factors.@*METHODS@#Data were taken from the 13th KYRBS in 2017. In this study on 62,276 adolescents, characteristics of 1,244 electronic cigarette users were compared with those of non-electronic cigarette users. The 1,244 adolescent electronic cigarette users were evaluated for characteristics related to smoking cessation. Among the related characteristics, demographic factors comprised sex, grade, economic status, weekly allowance, and residence type. Health status-related factors comprised physical activity, lifetime drinking experience, smoking amount, subjective health perception, and stress perception. School characteristics included school type, academic performance, and smoking cessation education. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed using complex sample analysis.@*RESULTS@#The proportion of current electronic cigarette users was 2.2% (boys, 3.3%; girls, 0.9%). Of the 41.5% of cigarette users willing to quit smoking, 11% used electronic cigarettes for this purpose. Among the electronic cigarette users, characteristics related to smoking cessation were grade, weekly allowance, and residence type, but logistic regression analysis revealed that increases in grade (odds ratio [OR], 2.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21–3.35) and living with family (OR, 4.17; 95% CI, 1.89–9.18) were associated with smoking cessation.@*CONCLUSIONS@#According to the 13th KYRBS in 2017, adolescents were likely to use electronic cigarette for smoking cessation when they are older and live with their families.

The Association between Chronic Diseases and Active Patient Participation

BACKGROUND: Active patient participation in health care decision-making can results in better medical outcomes. This study's purpose is to investigate the association between the patient participation and the diseases often encountered in primary care. METHODS: We used the data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2015 which included 4,158 adults aged older than 19 and who had no missing data. The association between the presence of disease or the number of accompanying diseases and the active patient participation in the treatment decision was studied. Logistic regression analysis was conducted using complex sampling design in each sex. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounding variables, the relationship between active patient participation and the diagnosis of hypertension, odds ratio (OR) was 1.95 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-3.04) for men and 1.83 (95% CI, 1.27-2.65) for women. In women diagnosed with diabetes, OR was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.35-0.97). Between active patient participation and increasing number of accompanying diseases have positive tendency but not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that active patient participation is related to the diagnosis of hypertension, and the number of accompanying diseases and active patient participation were not significantly associated. This is a rare study related to the active patient participation in the Korean population, that it may be helpful in establishing further relevant research and strategies to increase the patient participation rate.

The Relationship between Smoking and Suicidal Behavior in Korean Adolescents: 12th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey

BACKGROUND: Suicide is the first leading cause of death among teenagers in Korea, and smoking is reported to be one of the risk factors for suicide. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between smoking and smoking amount and suicidal behavior using data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS). METHODS: Using the 12th KYRBS 2016, we surveyed smoking, smoking amount, suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicidal attempt of adolescents. And a total of 65,528 respondents were divided into current smoker, former smokers, and non-smoker, and 4,012 smokers were classified into ≤9 cigarettes/day group, 10–19 cigarettes/day group, and ≥20 cigarettes/day group according to the amount of smokers. We analyzed the relationship between smoking and smoking amount and suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicidal attempt using multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: As a result of adjusting for all confounding variables, the current smoker has an odds ratio of 1.143 (confidence interval 1.020–1.281) with suicidal ideation compared to non-smoker and the odds ratio of suicidal planning and suicidal attempt is also statistically significant, respectively. And the odds ratio of all suicidal behaviors was significantly higher in ≥20 cigarettes/day group than in ≤9 cigarettes/day group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We found that smoking and smoking amount was related to suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, and suicidal attempts in adolescents. Therefore, suicidal prevention strategies considering this relationship should be established.