Tobacco smoking and depressed mood in late childhood and early adolescence

Objectives. This study builds on previous observations about a suspected ca usal association linking tobacco smoking with depression. With prospective data, the study sheds new light on the temporal sequencing of tobacco smoki ng and depressed mood in late childhood and early adolescence. Methods. The epidemiologic sample that was studied consisted of 1731 youths (aged 8-9 to 13-14 years) attending public schools in a mid-Atlantic metro politan areal who were assessed at least twice from 1989 to 1994. A surviva l analysis was used to examine the temporal relationship from antecedent to bacco smoking to subsequent onset of depressed mood. as well as from antece dent depressed mood to subsequent initiation of tobacco use. Results. Tobacco smoking signaled a modestly increased risk for the subsequ ent onset of depressed mood but antecedent depressed mood was ndr associate d with a later risk of starting to smoke tobacco cigarettes. Conclusions. This evidence is consistent with a possible causal link from t obacco smoking to later depressed mood in late childhood and early adolesce nce, but not vice versa.