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Study: Smoking increases depression risk


Published: April 25, 2008 at 7:21 PM
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PAMPLONA, Spain, April 25 (UPI) -- The risk of suffering depression increases by 41 percent in smokers, in comparison with non-smokers, Spanish and U.S. researchers said.

Scientists of the University of Navarra, in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston said they found a direct relationship between tobacco use and depression.

First author Almudena Sanchez-Villegas said the study is based on research undertaken over the course of six years on 8,556 university graduates with an average age of 42.

The article indicates that those who had given up tobacco more than a decade previously have a lesser probability of developing depression than those who have never smoked.

In addition, the researchers noted that an increase in tobacco use was correlated with a lessening of physical activity in the smoker's free time.

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A Chinese man smokes a cigarette as he walks through a shopping district in Beijing, October 15, 2006. The Chinese government has called for stronger measures to curb smoking in the world's biggest cigarette market, with the habit on the rise among women and teenagers. According to a recent report, China has an estimated 350 million smokers which will undoubtedly produce the largest nunmber of victims in a country with little health care options. (UPI Photo/Stephen Shaver)
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