Mood and smoking in schizophrenia

There have been few investigations into the relationship of smoking to the presentation of anxiety and depression in clients with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia. Using a survey design, the current study sought to determine if there was a significant difference between smoking and non-smoking clients in this clinical group on self-report measures of anxiety and depression. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess anxiety and depression. One hundred clients (male = 74) with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia completed the HADS. No significant difference was observed in anxiety and depression scores as a function of smoking status. A logistic regression analysis revealed that gender was a significant predictor of smoking status. The notion that smoking behaviour and mood state are associated with schizophrenia was not supported. However, a high proportion of the cohort were smokers (69%), and male gender was a significant predictive factor in smoking status. Further research in this area is recommended in order to develop strategies which reduce this current level of smoking in clients with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia.