Open Collections

Wood, Truman

University of British Columbia

Background: Despite evidence that substance use is associated with adverse health outcomes, the use of legal substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, and e-cigarettes is common in Canada. Reducing and preventing the use of these substances has implications for the primary prevention of many chronic health conditions. The current study aimed to identify individual- and neighbourhood-level risk factors for the use of alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, and e-cigarettes in the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health cohort. Methods: Using a cross-sectional research design, individual-level factors: stress, depression, and sleep, and neighbourhood-level factors: deprivation, gentrification, household security, labour force participation, immigration and visible minority proportion, and population density, were studied as risk factors for substance use. Regression models were built to understand the association between substance use and potential risk factors while adjusting for covariates. Results: High levels of neighbourhood material deprivation, social deprivation, and household insecurity were associated with higher odds of using cigarettes, cannabis, and e-cigarettes. Odds of using these substances was also higher for participants who lived in gentrified neighbourhoods. Lower odds of cigarette, cannabis, and e-cigarette use were found for participants who lived in neighbourhoods with a high proportion of residents who are recent immigrants and/or visible minorities. Among individual factors, participants that experienced frequent stress and depression had higher odds of using cigarettes, cannabis, and e-cigarettes. Associations between alcohol consumption and individual- and neighbourhood-level risk factors were generally modest. Conclusions: The associations between substance use and neighbourhood environment are largely novel findings in Canada. Further, these findings suggest experiencing negative emotions is associated with substance use among Canadian adults and that strategies aimed at reducing stress and depression could have implications for decreasing the prevalence of substance use behaviours. Evidence from the current study suggests interventions aimed at reducing or preventing substance use should be multidimensional, encompassing strategies directed at both individuals and the larger environments to which people belong (e.g., neighbourhoods). Findings from the current study may help inform intervention planning, resource distribution, and the development of health and social policies with the aim of reducing and preventing substance use.

Text

2024-05-09

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88269

Population and Public Health

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/