ABSTRACT
The use of electronic vaporisers to deliver cannabis (‘cannabis vaping’) has increased rapidly among young people. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarise current evidence on the psychosocial characteristics of adolescents and young adults who vape cannabis.
PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for original publications since 2003. We summarised and meta-analysed studies on adolescents (12-18 years) and young adults (19-34 years) that reported sociodemographic, mental health, and other substance use correlates of cannabis vaping.
Thirty-one studies from the U.S., Canada, England, New Zealand, and Switzerland met eligibility criteria (n=568,304): twenty-six on adolescents (12-18 years; n=554,934), five on young adults (19-34 years, n=13,370). Among adolescents who currently used cannabis (n=114,595), the odds of cannabis vaping were significantly higher in males than females (7 studies; pooled OR=1.79, 95%CI=1.38-2.34); in older than younger adolescents (3 studies; pooled OR=1.26, 95%CI=1.07-1.50), in adolescents who currently use tobacco (3 studies; pooled OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.11-2.36) or alcohol (3 studies; pooled OR=2.52, 95%CI=1.27-5.01), but significantly lower in non-Hispanic Blacks than Whites (4 studies; pooled OR=0.55, 95%CI=0.39-0.77). The relationship between adolescent cannabis vaping and mental health, and factors among young adults, was inconclusive due to insufficient studies.
Adolescents who were male, older, non-Hispanic White, and currently using alcohol or tobacco had higher odds of vaping cannabis. Findings highlighted the need to tailor prevention initiatives for these populations, and to conduct further research on the association between cannabis vaping and mental health disorders.