Do you smoke a cigarette to blow away that feeling of fear and worry?
Well, a major new study was conducted in Germany showing that people who smoke or have smoked in the past are more likely to suffer from depression than those who have never smoked.
This important study comes from the Central Institute for Mental Health (CIMH) in Mannheim and uses data from the German National Cohort, the largest population study in Germany.
The researchers published their results in the journal BMC Public Health where they found that the risk of depression increases with the number of cigarettes a person smokes.
The study also showed that quitting smoking can reduce this risk over time, meaning the longer a person remains smoke-free, the lower their risk of depression becomes.
According to the World Health OrganisationIt is already known that smoking is the leading cause of premature death worldwide, with more than 8 million deaths per year.
But while experts have long believed there is a link between smoking and depression, the exact reasons behind this link are still unclear.
That’s why this new study focused on how smoking habits, such as how many cigarettes are smoked each day and how long a person has been smoke-free, can influence the risk of depression.
Nearly 174,000 people, aged 19 to 72, took part in the study, half of whom were women. The participants were divided into three groups: those who never smoked (about 82,000), those who used to smoke (58,000) and those who still smoked (34,000).
They answered questions about whether they had been diagnosed with depression, whether they currently had symptoms, and details about their smoking history, including how old they were when they started and how many cigarettes they smoked every day.
The results showed that both current and former smokers were more likely to suffer from depression during their lifetime than people who had never smoked. This was especially true for people aged 40 to 59.
It suggests that the link between smoking and depression may change with age, and that both social and time-related factors may play a role.
The good news is that quitting smoking helps. People who quit smoking many years ago had gone longer without a depressive episode than those who quit more recently. This shows that quitting smoking can be a step towards better mental health.
Dr. Fabian Streit from CIMH said the findings highlight the need to prevent people from taking up smoking and to support those who want to quit.
