Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and the single most important avoidable cause of disease and premature death worldwide, according to background information in the article. Among psychiatric outpatients and inpatients, studies have found elevated smoking rates, and a recent national survey discovered higher smoking rates in persons with psychiatric disorders than those without.

Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., Ph.D., from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues used data from interviews with 43,093 adults living both in and out of group homes to examine nicotine and other drug use in conjunction with psychiatric disorders. The interviews were part of the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Study participants were assessed for nicotine dependence, alcohol and drug use disorders, mood disorders (e.g. depression, mania), anxiety disorders (e.g. social phobia, generalized anxiety), and personality disorders (e.g. obsessive-compulsive) in face-to-face interviews.

The researchers found that among the total sample, 28.4 percent were current users of any tobacco product, 24.9 percent were current cigarette smokers, and 12.8 percent (n = 4,962) were nicotine dependent. Those who were nicotine-dependent consumed 57.5 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States. Among respondents with nicotine dependence, the prevalence of any alcohol use disorder was 22.8 percent, while 21.1 percent had a mood disorder, 22 percent had an anxiety disorder, and 31.7 percent had a personality disorder. Prevalence of drug use disorder among ni
'"/>

Contact: Ann Bradley
301-443-3860
JAMA and Archives Journals
1-Nov-2004