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Nicotine withdrawal in women
P A Madden1, K K Bucholz, S H Dinwiddie
1Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|July 1, 1997
Summary
Severe nicotine withdrawal symptoms, including depression, are linked to higher rates of alcohol dependence and other psychopathology in female smokers. Neuroticism personality traits also play a role.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Twin Studies
Background:
- Nicotine withdrawal symptoms vary among individuals.
- Understanding these variations can inform smoking cessation strategies.
- Comorbid psychopathology is common in smokers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify distinct nicotine withdrawal symptom profiles in female smokers.
- To examine associations between these profiles, personality traits, psychopathology, and smoking history.
- To investigate the role of twin study design in understanding these relationships.
Main Methods:
- Latent class analysis was used to identify smoker subtypes based on withdrawal symptoms.
- Data were collected from 553 female adult Australian twins.
- Assessments included smoking history, nicotine dependence, withdrawal symptoms, personality (TPQ, EPQ-R), and lifetime psychopathology.
Main Results:
- Three distinct classes of nicotine withdrawal were identified, ranging from mild to severe.
- Severe withdrawal was characterized by hand tremors and depressive symptoms.
- Higher rates of lifetime alcohol dependence, major depression, conduct disorder, and anxiety disorder were associated with more severe withdrawal.
- Neuroticism was the primary personality factor linked to withdrawal symptom severity.
Conclusions:
- Nicotine withdrawal symptom profiles represent a continuum of severity.
- Severe withdrawal is associated with increased risk for comorbid alcohol dependence and other psychiatric disorders.
- Personality traits, particularly neuroticism, are implicated in the experience of nicotine withdrawal.