Smoking and Mental Health
Between 2007 and 2010 smoking rates in the general community dropped from 26% to 19%. For people with psychotic disorders the rate did not drop at all.
People with severe mental health disorders also smoke more than those without. Could this be why they have more difficulty quitting?
Physical impact of smoking
People with mental illness have considerably shorter life spans than those without and much of their increased mortality is due to smoking related disease. It’s complicated by the metabolic effects of the drugs they need to take to manage their mental illness but the effects of smoking are unquestionable.
Mental health benefits of not smoking
The really interesting thing is that the studies suggest that mental health improves after smoking across the spectrum of mental illness. A review an meta-analysis by Taylor et al published in the BMJ in 2014 https://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1151 reported that “Smoking cessation is associated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress and improved positive mood and quality of life compared with continuing to smoke. The effect size seems as large for those with psychiatric disorders as those without. The effect sizes are equal or larger than those of antidepressant treatment for mood and anxiety disorders.”
So, surely we should be more involved in smoking cessation for our patients.
Its not just about cancer and cardiovascular disease. It’s not just the “GPs section” – it’s about better mental health as well.
To learn more about effects of smoking on mental health please register for our webinar: Smoking Cessation and Mental Health - Quit Using the Word 'Quit'.
Jan is Sydney GP, private psychological medicine practitioner in Sydney’s inner west and a GP educator for Black Dog Institute.
Stories about topical steroid withdrawal are difficult to put into context for both consumers and health professionals. The outcome is that many consumers are avoiding using topical corticosteroids, which in many cases, makes it harder to manage conditions such as eczema.
You are working in ED and have received a call from Pathology regarding blood results that you took earlier on Lauren, who is 18 years old and 30 weeks pregnant with her first child. Discover the diagnosis behind Lauren's abnormal blood results and learn the symptoms, risks, and management of this life-threatening obstetric emergency.
Jaime has suffered from severe eczema for most of his life. This podcast delves into the interactions that take place between consumers and health professionals in the eczema journey.