Abstract from Clinical Psychiatry
Background
The impact of tobacco smoking on mental health outcomes was investigated in a 24-month, naturalistic, longitudinal study of 240 people with bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder.
Participants were interviewed and data recorded by trained study clinicians at 9 interviews during the study period. Smoking status was determined by self-report. Nicotine dependence was not measured
Results
Comparisons were made between participants who smoked daily (n = 122) and the remaining study participants (n = 117). During the 24-month study period, the daily smokers had poorer scores on the Clinical Global Impressions–Depression (P = .034) and Clinical Global Impressions–Overall Bipolar (P = .026) scales and had lengthier stays in hospital (P = .012), compared with nonsmokers.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that smoking is associated with poorer mental health outcomes in bipolar and schizoaffective disorder.