Levels of toxicants among people who vape, smoke, dual use, or do neither among people with and without psychosis.

Background

Levels of toxicant exposure are lower among people who vape compared to smoke, but little is known about whether this differs by mental health status. We compare levels of toxicants among people with and without experience of psychosis (EoP) who exclusively vaped, exclusively smoked, dual-used, or neither smoked nor vaped in the past 30-days.

Methods

Data were from 5750 adults (aged 18+) from Wave 5 (2018) of the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Linear regression models assessed associations between urinary toxicants (nicotine metabolites, metals, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Tobacco Specific Nitrosamines (TSNAs)), past 30-day smoking/vaping status, and EoP, adjusting for demographics and cannabis use.

Results

Among people with (n=361, 6.3%) and without EoP (n=5389, 93.7%), urinary levels of TSNAs, cadmium, and most VOCs, were higher among people who smoked or dual-used compared to people who vaped. Nicotine metabolites were lower among people without EoP who vaped compared to people who smoked or dual-used. However, nicotine metabolite levels were similar among people with EoP who vaped, smoked or dual-used. Levels of nicotine metabolites, some metals, and VOCs were higher among people who vaped compared to neither smoked nor vaped, but differences were only significant among people without EoP. 

Results for comparisons of product use and toxicant levels between people with and without EoP will also be discussed.

Conclusions

Levels of toxicant exposure are lower among people who vape compared to smoke among those with and without EoP.