|
ANN ARBOR,
MI - Recent statistics from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control provide some frightening statistics
for smokers. On average, men and women who smoke die about 13 to
14 years earlier than non-smokers. Around 430,000 Americans die
from smoking-related disease each year.
 Researchers
at the University
of Michigan Health System Nicotine Research Laboratory are conducting
a number of studies to try to determine who is most likely to puff
their life away. One study will look at the relationship between
smoking and depression.
Smoking is
a serious problem from a number of points of view, according to
Ovide Pomerleau, Ph.D., director of the U-M
Behavioral Medicine Program and professor of psychology in psychiatry.
He points out that more women die of smoking-related lung cancer
than from breast cancer each year. Smoking is also an economic burden,
accounting for $100 billion dollars a year in lost work and medical
treatment for smoking-related diseases.
"Another
important consideration for people who smoke is that many of these
diseases, like emphysema, lung cancer, bladder cancer, mouth and
throat cancer, also cause a great deal of suffering," says
Pomerleau.
There are several
reasons people might start smoking in the first place. These include
looking for new experiences, susceptibility to peer pressure, or
liking the feeling of a nicotine hit.
Pomerleau says
another category of people who are susceptible to taking up smoking
include those with a tendency towards depression.
Scientists
are still searching for a clear understanding of the link between
depression and smoking. One explanation is the 'self-medication'
idea, that nicotine has a short term benefit effect on the neurotransmitter
systems involved in depression, so smoking a cigarette may provide
some relief from the feelings of depression.
"Typically,
the effect of the cigarette would be fairly short - certainly not
the same as a prescribed antidepressant," Pomerleau says.
On the other
hand, smoking may cause depression or make it worse. There is also
some evidence suggesting the existence of a common variable affecting
both smoking and depression - possibly at the genetic level - such
that people who are susceptible to depression may also be more susceptible
to smoking. If this theory is valid, Pomerleau says, a person with
depression who tries to stop smoking would become more depressed.
"For a
person with a history of depression, particularly of clinically
diagnosed depression, giving up smoking may require some additional
procedures and some precautions. They should certainly discuss smoking
cessation with their health care provider and consider the pharmacological
interventions that are available," says Pomerleau.
Studies
at the Nicotine Research Laboratory
The Nicotine
Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan Health System
is currently conducting a number of studies looking at smoking,
with a particular focus on understanding the mechanisms by which
nicotine is so attractive to some people and not to others. Likewise,
it seeks to understand what it is that differentiates people who
are susceptible and those who are not.
Two studies
on smoking and depression are currently in progress. One of them
looks at smokers who have/do not have a history of depression. Areas
the study hopes to illuminate include behavioral reactions to the
drug nicotine, and whether people with/without depression react
differently when they smoke or try to give it up.
Smokers and
non-smokers alike may be interested in enrolling in a study on the
genetics of smoking and depression. Participation begins when an
interested person calls the Nicotine Research Laboratory to find
out if it is appropriate for them to participate, as well as to
receive more information about what these studies involve.
For more
information on the U-M Nicotine Research Lab Studies:
Non-Smokers:
(800) 742-2300 and enter category #6308
Smokers:
(800) 742-2300 and enter category #6321
Facts about
smoking and depression:
- Tobacco
use causes more premature death than do all drugs of abuse combined.
- Lung cancer,
which is estimated to account for approximately 157,400 deaths
in 2001, would be a rare disease in the absence of smoking.
- Cancers
of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, cervix, kidney,
and bladder are all associated with tobacco use.
- Tobacco-related
diseases such as lung cancer remain some of the most difficult
to treat effectively.
- Approximately
18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S.
population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive
disorder.
- Nearly twice
as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected
by a depressive disorder each year. These figures translate to
12.4 million women and 6.4 million men in the U.S.
- Depressive
disorders may be appearing earlier in life in people born in recent
decades compared to the past.
- Depressive
disorders often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance
abuse.
For more
information, visit the following web sites:
U-M Health
Topics A to Z: depression
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/mental/depres01.htm
U-M Health
Topics A to Z: cigarette substitutes
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/subabuse/tobacc12.htm
U-M Health
Topics A to Z: the effects of smoking
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/subabuse/tobacc11.htm
U-M Health
Topics A to Z: second-hand smoke
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/subabuse/tobacc06.htm
U-M Health
Topics A to Z: how to quit smoking
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/primry/life04.htm
U-M Health
Topics A to Z: tobacco
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/subabuse/tobacc02.htm
U-M Depression
Center
http://www.med.umich.edu/depression/
Monitor on
Psychology: Smoking and depression
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun01/smokedepress.html
Monitor on
Psychology: Smoking increases teen depression
http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec00/smoking.html
Written by
Mary Beth Reilly
For more
information, contact Kara Gavin or Carrie Hagen, UMHS Public
Relations, 734-764-2220, or by e-mail.
Recent
Press Releases
Return
to Medical School Home Page
|
