Women who smoke are at greater risk of becoming depressed


Filed Under Overcome Depression | Oct 9, MDT 10:25 am

 
Australian researchers have found that women who smoke are more likely to develop a major depressive disorder than women who don’t smoke.

A total of 671 women with no history of major depressive disorders were studied. Of the 87 women who were smokers, 13 (15%) went on to develop major depressive disorder.

However, among 584 non-smokers, just 38 (6.5%) developed major depressive disorder during a decade of follow-up.

Heavy smokers, those who smoke more than twenty cigarettes a day, are twice as likely to become depressed than more moderate smokers.

An older American survey that included men also showed that smokers were nearly twice as likely to have suffered a major depressive episode at some point in their life than were non-smokers.

There is evidence which suggests that smoking itself can compound mental health problems. The connection between smoking and depression isn’t clearly understood, but it does clearly exists. And unfortunately, more and more studies are coming out which point to smoking contributing to the onset of depression, rather then depression leading to the habit of smoking. In one study, pregnant mothers who smoked were found to have children who were more susceptible to depression.

Obviously, smoking and depression have a rather intimate relationship with one another. If you want to quit them both, it could require a lifestyle overhaul. Quitting smoking can be especially difficult for the depressed, since smoking does seem to have certain qualities in common with restricted anti-depressants. The New York Time provides a good overview of some of the ways the depressed
can help escape their cigarette cravings. You can quit the smoking habit. It just takes a little effort.

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