A Prospective Study of the Impact of Smoking on Outcomes in Bipolar and Schizoaffective Disorder
Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by admin in Discoveries and Innovations
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.
