A new study has found a link between vaping and the mental health of teenagers.
According to research done by Australia’s Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, 20% of students who participated demonstrated symptoms of moderate to severe depression. This result could potentially lead to intervention related to mental health and e-cigarette use, The Guardian reports.
Over 5,000 students from New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia between the ages of 12 and 14 participated in the 2023 study. They answered questions related to mental health, drug use, vaping and overall well-being.
The study, which was published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry on Monday, Sept. 2, revealed that students with higher amounts of stress were more likely to use vapes or have tried them. Roughly 8.3% of the participants said they used vapes.
Getty
Students with moderate levels of stress were 74% more likely to take up vaping. Meanwhile, students with severe stress levels were 64% more likely to start using the e-cigarettes.
Though there was a correlation between vaping and teenager’s mental health, there was no evidence to denote a causal link between the two.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer??, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Per The Guardian, University of Sydney associate professor and a co-author of the study Emily Stockings noted that “if we want to try to improve mental health and we want to try to prevent vaping, clearly we’ve got to do these two things together.”
She also said that although there is temporary relief with nicotine use, the long-term effects shouldn’t be ignored. “Regardless of whether mental ill health influences smoking or vice-versa, it is clear that if we are to prevent vaping onset, we need to address mental health at the same time,” she said, according to UPI.
Per The Guardian, Michelle Jongenelis, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, said that this “critical period for development” is an important time for prioritizing mental health intervention and support.
More research will need to be done to find a stronger correlation between vaping and mental health, but the study is a sufficient starting point, demonstrating a need for more information.
According to the CDC, most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm human brain development for users under 25.
