Cigarette smoking, major depression, and other psychiatric disorders among adolescents

To examine cross-sectionally and prospectively relationships of cigarette smoking with major depressive disorder (MDD), controlling for comorbidity in a community sample of adolescents.

A representative sample of 1,709 adolescents (aged 14 through 18 years) was assessed by using semistructured diagnostic interviews on two occasions, approximately 1 year apart. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine cross-sectionally and prospectively the relationships between smoking and each psychiatric disorder, while statistically controlling for the other disorders.

Cross-sectional analyses revealed significant relationships of drug abuse/dependence and disruptive behavior disorders with adolescent smoking, even after the co-occurrence of all other disorders was controlled. Prospectively, smoking was found to increase the risk of developing an episode of MDD and drug abuse/dependence, after adjusting for other disorders. Finally, only lifetime prevalence of MDD remained a significant predictor of smoking onset, after controlling for other disorders. Gender did not moderate any of the relationships between psychopathology and smoking.

The results suggest important relationships between cigarette smoking and psychiatric disorders among adolescents, particularly with regard to MDD, drug abuse/dependence, and disruptive behavior disorders. These findings have important clinical implications, both for psychiatric care and for smoking prevention and cessation efforts with adolescents.