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Cigarette smoking dose-response and suicidal ideation among young people in Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Sathian B 1 , Menezes RG 2 , Asim M 1 , Mekkodathil A 1 , Sreedharan J 3 , Banerjee I 4 Show all authors , van Teijlingen ER 5 , Roy B 6 , Subramanya SH 7 , Kharoshah MA 8 , Rajesh E 9 , Shetty U 10 , Arun M 11 , Ram P 12 , Srivastava VK 13

Affiliations 

  • 1 Surgery Department, Trauma Surgery, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar
  • 2 Forensic Medicine Division, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
  • 4 SSR Medical College, Belle Rive, Mauritius
  • 5 Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK
  • 6 Department of Physiology, Quest International University Perak (QIUP), city Campus, Ipoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Medical Microbiology, Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal
  • 8 Forensic Medicine Centre, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
  • 9 School of Behavioural Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, India
  • 10 Department of Forensic Medicine, A. J. Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangalore, India
  • 11 Department of Forensic Medicine, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, India
  • 12 Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • 13 Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India
Nepal J Epidemiol, 2020 Mar;10(1):821-829.
PMID: 32257512 DOI: 10.3126/nje.v10i1.28277

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for morbidity and early mortality among adult population. The present study aimed to find out the association between current smoking and suicidal ideation among young people in Nepal.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was carried out among 452 youths from Pokhara, Nepal. The present study included both genders (age 18-24 years) who were smokers as well as non-smokers.

Results: Across the study period, 452 participants were identified after matching for age, and sex (226 in the smoking group and 226 in the non-smoking group). The mean age of participants was 21.6±1.2 years and 58.8% were males. The overall rate of suicidal ideation in our cohort was 8.9%. Smokers were slightly more likely to report suicidal ideation than non-smokers (aOR 1.12). The risk of developing suicidal ideation was 3.56 (95% CI 1.26-10.09) times more in individuals who smoked greater than 3.5 cigarettes per week (p=0.01).

Conclusion: The rate of suicidal ideation was slightly higher among smokers and a dose-response relationship was identified with the number of cigarettes smoked per week. Being aware of the link between smoking and suicidal ideation may help health care professionals working with young people to address more effectively the issues of mental well-being and thoughts about suicide.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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