The association between exposure to smoking and symptoms of depression among BC youth

Several studies have shown that exposure to smoking has a detrimental effect on physical health; however, it is not well understood what how such exposure is associated with depression. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to smoking and depressive symptoms among youth. The design of this study was the analysis of existing cross-sectional survey data obtained from 7127 high school students who participated in a school-based survey that was conducted in 2004 (British Columbia Youth Survey of Smoking and Health II (BCYSOSH-II)). Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between psychosocial measures of exposure to smoking and symptoms of depression, after adjusting for demographic variables (age, sex and aboriginal descent) and other variables (alcohol use and drug use) associated with symptoms of depression.