Smoking and psychiatric disorders

Can smoking behaviors put you at risk for mental illness?

• Smoking is a modifiable behavior related to mental health. In the present investigation, the relationship between smoking initiation, mental traits, and disability is studied, where common risk factors attributable to smoking and mental illness were controlled. These covariates include cannabis and alcohol use, risk-taking, and insomnia.

• ︎A significant genetic correlation between smoking and mental illness and experiences of psychosis in adults was found. When effects of genetics on known external determinants were controlled, the genetic associations between smoking behaviors and schizophrenia and depression still existed. The results showed the causal role of smoking initiation in some adolescent mental disorders, negative cognition, and psychotic experiences. 

• Smoking can play an important role in susceptibility to mental illness. Smoking and mental illness share genetic effects and cannot be attributed to covariates. Therefore, smoking and mental illness may share some linked genetic pathways.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93962-7