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Differences between smokers and nonsmokers with anxiety disorders.
Sandra Baker Morissette1, Timothy A Brown, Barbara Wolfsdorf Kamholz
1VA Boston Healthcare System, Psychology Service, 116B, 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130, USA. sandra.morissette@med.va.gov
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
|October 6, 2005
Summary
Smokers with anxiety disorders report higher anxiety sensitivity, symptoms, and stress, particularly those with panic disorder. Differences in social anxiety or worry were not observed between smokers and nonsmokers.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Epidemiological studies link early smoking to anxiety disorders and anxiety disorders to nicotine dependence.
- Prevalence of smoking is high among individuals with anxiety disorders, but differences between smokers and nonsmokers are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differences between smokers and nonsmokers within anxiety disorder diagnoses.
- To examine how smoking status relates to anxiety sensitivity, symptoms, and other clinical measures.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 527 individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders.
- Comparison of smokers and nonsmokers across measures of anxiety sensitivity, symptoms, agoraphobic avoidance, mood, affect, stress, and life interference.
Main Results:
- Smokers with anxiety disorders reported significantly higher anxiety sensitivity, anxiety symptoms, agoraphobic avoidance, depressed mood, negative affect, stress, and life interference compared to nonsmokers.
- These differences were primarily driven by findings within the panic disorder subgroup.
- No significant differences were found regarding social anxiety, worry, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, or positive affect between smokers and nonsmokers.
Conclusions:
- Smoking status is associated with specific clinical features in anxiety disorders, notably panic disorder.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for developing targeted interventions for comorbid smoking and anxiety.
- Further research is needed to explore differential patterns within various anxiety disorder diagnoses.