Serious psychological distress and higher associations with tobacco and cannabis use among college students in the United States

Objective

To examine associations between serious psychological distress (SPD) and tobacco and cannabis use among college students in the United States.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 257,626 college students from the 2019–2022 National College Health Assessment survey. SPD was defined as having symptoms in the past month. Current tobacco (i.e., cigarettes, e-cigarettes) and cannabis use was defined as past month use. Multiple product use was categorized for single, dual, or triple products. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to examine associations between SPD, tobacco, cannabis, and multiple product use.

Results

SPD increased over time (18.4% to 23.8%) among students and nearly 30% of tobacco or cannabis users reported SPD. Cigarette, e-cigarette, or cannabis use was associated with about a 50–60% increased likelihood of reporting SPD than non-current use of each product, with the highest associations in Fall 2020. Triple product users had double the likelihood of reporting SPD, followed by dual users at 70% and single users at 47%, relative to non-current users. Daily users also had nearly twice the likelihood of reporting SPD, followed by non-daily users at 13–35%, relative to non-current users.

Conclusions

College students have an increasing burden of SPD which is significantly associated with tobacco and cannabis use. There is a dose-response relationship between the number of tobacco and cannabis products used, as well as the frequency of use, and SPD among U.S. college students. Colleges addressing student mental health should prioritize the implementation of screening and treatment support for tobacco, cannabis, and multiple product use.