Study Characteristics, Quality Appraisal, Outcome Synthesis, and Search Strategy for a Review of Adolescent Vaping and Neurodevelopment
Description
This dataset contains the supplementary materials supporting the methodological review entitled “From Association to Developmental Inference: A Methodological Framework for Adolescent Vaping and Neurodevelopment Research.” The review systematically examined methodological approaches used to investigate neurocognitive, neurodevelopmental, psychological, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes associated with electronic cigarette use among adolescents and young adults. The dataset includes four supplementary tables derived from the 32 empirical studies included in the review. Supplementary Table S1 presents the characteristics and methodological features of the included studies, including country, study design, sample characteristics, age, e-cigarette exposure definition, comparator groups, outcomes assessed, and key findings. Supplementary Table S2 contains the methodological quality assessment of all included studies using the appropriate Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools, together with appraisal scores, quality ratings, and major methodological limitations. Supplementary Table S3 summarizes the distribution of studies across major outcome domains, including executive functioning, attention, working memory, learning and cognition, brain development, depression, anxiety, psychological distress, suicidality, psychiatric comorbidity, nicotine dependence, and behavioral and psychosocial outcomes. Supplementary Table S4 documents the literature-search approach used across Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycINFO, including the core Boolean search structure and the number of records identified from each database. The search covered the databases from inception to February 2026 and identified 132 records before duplicate removal. Following screening and eligibility assessment, 32 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The review followed PRISMA 2020 reporting principles and applied design-specific Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Because of substantial heterogeneity in study designs, exposure definitions, comparator groups, outcome measures, and assessment instruments, quantitative meta-analysis was not undertaken; instead, the evidence was synthesized narratively and methodologically. These supplementary data are intended to improve transparency, reproducibility, and traceability of the review and to provide researchers with a structured resource for examining methodological patterns, limitations, and priorities in adolescent vaping and neurodevelopment research.
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The dataset was generated from a systematic methodological review examining neurocognitive, neurodevelopmental, psychological, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes associated with electronic cigarette use among adolescents and young adults. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycINFO from database inception to February 2026. Search strategies combined controlled vocabulary, where applicable, with free-text terms related to electronic cigarettes or vaping, adolescents and young adults, and neurocognitive, developmental, and mental health outcomes. Boolean operators (AND/OR), truncation, and database-specific indexing terms were used. Core search concepts included electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, vaping, electronic nicotine delivery system, adolescent, youth, young adult, cognition, executive function, attention, memory, brain development, neurodevelopment, depression, anxiety, mental health, and suicidality. The review followed PRISMA 2020 reporting principles. A total of 132 records were identified: Scopus (n=33), PubMed/MEDLINE (n=31), Web of Science (n=27), Embase (n=17), and PsycINFO (n=24). After removal of 24 duplicates, 108 records underwent title and abstract screening. Forty-seven full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 32 empirical studies were included in the final synthesis. Data were systematically extracted from each included study into a structured dataset. Variables included country, study design, sample size, participant age, definition of e-cigarette exposure, comparator group, measured outcomes, and key findings. Methodological quality was assessed using the appropriate Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist according to study design. The dataset records the checklist used, JBI score, quality rating, and principal methodological limitation for each study. Because substantial heterogeneity existed in study designs, exposure definitions, comparator groups, and outcome measures, meta-analysis was not undertaken. Instead, a narrative methodological synthesis was conducted. Findings were organized into domains including executive function and attention, learning and memory, brain development and neuroanatomy, depression, anxiety and psychological distress, suicidality and nonsuicidal self-injury, psychiatric comorbidity, and behavioral and psychosocial outcomes. The deposited Excel workbook contains study-level extraction data, JBI appraisal results, outcome-domain synthesis, database search information, PRISMA screening counts, bibliographic references, and a data dictionary. No laboratory instruments, reagents, or specialized software were required. Exact line-by-line database search histories were not preserved; therefore, only documented search structures, database approaches, and retrieval counts are reported.
Institutions
- Angeles University FoundationCentral Luzon, Angeles City