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(U-WIRE) ATHENS, Ohio -- While most people believe depressed people smoke to help them cope, a new study indicates the opposite is true -- smoking can cause depression. Elizabeth Goodman, of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, and John Capitman from the Schneider Institute of Health Policy at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., conducted the study. The results were published in the October issue of Pediatrics, a journal published by The American Academy of Pediatrics. In the study, Goodman and Capitman selected two samples of teens. The first sample contained 8,704 teens who were not depressed. Because smoking behavior was varied in this group, the researchers could trace whether this variable caused depression. The second group contained 6,947 teens who had not smoked for at least 30 days to study whether these teens were depressed after moderate to heavy smoking at a one-year follow-up. The study also took into consideration factors such as gender, race, household income and highest level of education reached by participants' parents. Goodman and Capitman also asked the students to report their GPAs, anxiety levels and the names of three friends who smoked so the researchers could measure peer smoking. After a year of observation through interviews with the teens and their parents, the experimenters concluded that while some depressed teens do smoke, many more develop depression after smoking. Professionals had mixed reactions to the study. "This (smoking) may be a factor that influences the level of depression," said Jeanne Heaton, a psychologist at Hudson Health Center. But she said she did not believe smoking was a cause of depression. She said students who felt depressed should come to Hudson for a free screening. Assistant Director of the Health Education and Wellness office at Ohio University, Kathy Ott, said the study did not include enough conclusive evidence for her to decide whether she agreed with it. "Obviously the research was valid,(but) it didn't have a lot of information," she said. She said she would like to see a larger study. Ohio University students also had mixed feelings. "(Smoking) drains your money, so there's a source of depression," said Erin Tustian, an OU senior who smokes. She said she had been depressed, but would not blame cigarettes. OU senior Terence Neff said he believed it was more likely that depression caused smoking. "Back in the day, a cigarette was what helped me get by -- it kept me focused." Molly Klima, a junior at OU, said she agreed with the study's conclusions. "Three out of four of my friends who've been smoking since they were young have had depression," she said. Becca Manning contributed to this story. |
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Last modified: March 30, 2007 |
