IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 7271: Factors Associated with E-Cigarette Use in U.S. Young Adult Never Smokers of Conventional Cigarettes: A Machine Learning Approach

IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 7271: Factors Associated with E-Cigarette Use in U.S. Young Adult Never Smokers of Conventional Cigarettes: A Machine Learning Approach International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197271 Authors: Nkiruka C. Atuegwu Cheryl Oncken Reinhard C. Laubenbacher Mario F. Perez Eric M. Mortensen E-cigarette use is increasing among young adult never smokers of conventional cigarettes, but the awareness of the factors associated with e-cigarette use in this population is limited. The goal of this work was to use machine learning (ML) algorithms to determine the factors associated with current e-cigarette use among US young adult never cigarette smokers. Young adult (18–34 years) never cigarette smokers from the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) who reported current or never e-cigarette use were used for the analysis (n = 79,539). Variables associated with current e-cigarette use were selected by two ML algorithms (Boruta and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)). Odds ratios were calculated to determine the association between e-cigarette use and the variables selected by the ML algorithms, after adjusting for age, gender and race/ethnicity and incorporating the BRFSS complex design. The prevalence of e-cigarette use varied across states. Factors previously reported in the literature, such as age, race/ethnicity, alcohol use, depression, as wel...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research