Bipolar Smokers: At Greater Risk for Suicidality

A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry examined the strength of the correlation between smoking, bipolar disorder, and suicidal behavior. Researchers assessed 399 outpatients with bipolar disorder for diagnosis, course of illness, and psychiatric comorbidity. 155 patients (38.8%) had a history of daily smoking. Any history of smoking was associated with earlier onset of first depressive or manic episode, and 47% of smokers had a lifetime history of suicide attempt vs. 25% for patients who had never smoked. Researchers thus concluded that bipolar patients with lifetime smoking had higher risk than non-smokers for greater severity of bipolar symptoms, anxiety and substance abuse, and poorer functioning. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

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