Tobacco Smoking and the Association With First Incidence of Mood,Anxiety,and Substance Use Disorders: A 3-Year Prospective Population-Based Study

Abstract

There is consistent evidence from cross-sectional studies that smoking is positively associated with mental disorders. The research on the prospective association, however, is inconsistent. In the present study, we aimed to further increase the knowledge of this association by addressing several issues in the body of research. Data used were from a nationally representative, population-based cohort study among 18- to 64-year-olds at baseline. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers at baseline were significantly more likely to experience first incidence of any mood, anxiety, or substance use disorder at 3-year follow-up while controlling for a wide range of confounding factors. The association with incident mood and anxiety disorders was particularly high among heavy smokers. The dose-effect analyses on later substance use disorders showed unclear results, warranting further research. Additional analyses showed that results at 6-year follow-up were very similar, except for a weaker relationship between smoking and substance use disorders.