Effect of nicotine abuse on oxidative stress and perceived stress and its relationship with coping self efficacy among university graduates

Abstract

An interdisciplinary review of the literature portrayed stress as an important cause for nicotine abuse among university students. Independent studies have shown nicotine to contribute perceived stress (PS) and oxidative stress (OS) but its mediation relation with PS and OS remains unclear and inspires active exploration. A prominent study on the relationship of smoking with perceived stress and coping styles in adolescents motivates to study the effect of nicotine abuse (NA) on PS, CSE, and OS indices among young adult university graduates. The study sample included 45 university graduates with 1-3 years of tobacco abuse history and 50 age-matched controls. The respondents were compared for perceived stress scale (PSS) score, coping self-efficacy (CSE) score, erythrocyte malondialdehyde (E_MDA), plasma MDA (P_MDA), erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (E_SOD), and plasma catalase (P_CAT). The study found NA increased the PS but not the CSE. Linear regression analysis showed a strong inverse relation between the PSS Score and CSE Score in the controls. Among the biochemical indices of OS, only P_MDA showed a significant difference between the groups. Multiple regressions showed a significant positive association of E_MDA with PSS Score and a significant negative association of E_SOD with PSS Score across the groups. Further, the mediation model is used to show a significant relationship between NA and PSS Score by Combined MDA (C_MDA). The result of study suggested that nicotine increases PS and reduces CSE. P_MDA is an important biochemical marker of nicotine abuse. E_MDA and E_SOD are important predictors of PS. These findings are important for psychobiochemical interventions in the management of NA. Therefore, this study encourages an interdisciplinary discourse on nicotine abuse with psychological and biochemical measures.