A STUDY OF SMOKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG MALES WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA
Journal Title: Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences - Year 2017, Vol 6, Issue 45
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nicotine dependence is the commonest substance use disorder among individuals with schizophrenia. The common co-occurrence of nicotine use and schizophrenia is a manifestation of shared underlying neurobiology. Several studies point towards linkages between the effects of nicotine and the neurobiology of schizophrenia. However, studies like these have all come from the developed west with a different sociocultural milieu. It would be of importance to study smoking by patients with schizophrenia in the non-western developing countries like India. Such studies could evidence whether high smoking in schizophrenia is a universal phenomenon and also help clarify the role of cultural and other non-biological factors on the smoking behaviour. Aim- To study the relationship between smoking status and clinical characteristics in males with schizophrenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS 75 consenting patients with schizophrenia each of those who smoked and those who did not were recruited for the study at the outpatient department of Institute of Mental Health, Chennai. Patients were assessed using well-validated scales. RESULTS Smokers with schizophrenia had a significantly greater number of hospitalisations, longer duration of hospitalisation, higher PANSS scores, greater depression and anxiety when compared to non-smokers. Smokers also received a significantly higher mean dosage of antipsychotic drugs than non-smokers. Smoking status had a high positive correlation with positive syndrome, negative syndrome, general psychopathology, high akathisia scores and antipsychotic dose. CONCLUSION Smoking status is associated with a severe psychiatric illness. The clinical implications of this study are: a) Smoking status should be addressed when evaluating data from studies of antipsychotic dose, efficacy and side effects; b) Smoking possibly reflects selfmedication of underlying psychopathology or of medication side effects.
Authors and Affiliations
Thirumalai Ranganathan
Keywords
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- EP ID EP217069
- DOI 10.14260/Jemds/2017/762
- Views 90
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