Smoking is common among people suffering from depressive disorders. Given the high prevalence of its addiction, experts have ramped up their efforts at better understanding the implications of smoking.
In a recent study by experts at the University of Helsinki, smoking dependence was associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction, over 1,400 twins born in Finland dubbed as smokers were provided questionnaires to assess their habits.
In the study, it was found that smoking dependence was evident in about 18 percent of cases involving depressive symptoms.
According to researchers: “Depression appears to be associated with smoking dependence and smoking dependence motives related to heavy, automatic use and use to regulate affective states. The associations appear to be confounded or mediated by neuroticism but are independent of shared familial influences.”
“Although depression is more common among adult women and depressed women are at higher risk for nicotine dependence, we did not find sex‐interactions in the associations of depression with smoking dependence or smoking dependence motives. Therefore, based on our data, the association between depression and such dependence is not moderated by sex,” researchers also stated in their study.
The study was authored by Maarit Piirtola, Jaakko Kaprio, Timothy Baker, Thomas Piasecki, Megan Piper, and Tellervo Korhonen.
