Subjective effects and the main reason for smoking in outpatients with schizophrenia: a case-control study

This study examines in daily smokers (1) subjective effects and main reason for smoking after controlling for nicotine dependence level in 100 controls and 173 patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, schizophrenia and (2) the association of specific subjective effects and schizophrenia symptoms. The subjective effects and the main reason for smoking were studied using a questionnaire and the schizophrenia symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Proportions were compared by odds ratios controlling for the effects of sex, age, education, and level of nicotine dependence by logistic regression. Schizophrenia was strongly associated with subjective effects of cheerfulness, agility, alertness, concentration, and calmness. In patients with schizophrenia, a cheerfulness effect was associated with higher depressive symptoms; a calming effect, with higher anxiety symptoms; and a sociability effect, with lower negative symptoms. Compared with controls, desire for calmness as the main reason for smoking was more frequent in patients with schizophrenia. These survey data call for confirmation through experimental studies and may help in the design of more focused smoking cessation programs for these patients.