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Schizophrenics Take In More Nicotine Per Cigarette
Smokers with schizophrenia and related disorders take in more nicotine per cigarette than people without such mental illnesses, suggesting that such diseases have a neurobiological component that drives people to seek out the drug. This, in turn, indicates that effective treatment for tobacco addiction for people with schizophrenia might include nicotine replacement treatments that mimic smoking behavior.
Dr. Jill Williams and her colleagues at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the UMDNJSchool of Public Health Tobacco Dependence Program, and the University of CaliforniaSan Francisco compared blood levels of nicotine and its primary byproduct in 81 schizophrenic smokers and 55 smokers without the mental disorder.
They observed that blood levels of nicotine and cotinine (a breakdown product of nicotine from cigarette smoke) were 1.3 times higher in the mentally ill participants despite smoking a similar number of cigarettes per day. They also found that there were no differences between the groups in their ability to metabolize nicotine and cotinine, suggesting that the higher levels in schizophrenia were from differences in their cigarette intake patterns. The research supports anecdotal reports that smokers with schizophrenia seem to take more or deeper puffs than other smokers.
Smokers with schizophrenia have death rates that exceed that of the general population. Such individuals are at greater risk for death from smoking-related illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease.
* WHAT IT MEANS: Smoking in schizophrenics appears to be linked to the unique neurobiological abnormalities of the disorder. Recognizing the differences in nicotine intake by schizophrenic, smokers is important not only for developing more effective smoking cessation tools for people with schizophrenia such as a nicotine nasal spray that provides high, intermittent doses, but also for providing additional insight into the nature of the disease.
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