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. 2019 Oct;13(5):1173-1181.
doi: 10.1111/eip.12751. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Tobacco use and psychosis risk in persons at clinical high risk

Heather B Ward  1 , Michael T Lawson  2 , Jean Addington  3 , Carrie E Bearden  4 , Kristin S Cadenhead  5 , Tyrone D Cannon  6 , Barbara A Cornblatt  7 , Clark D Jeffries  8 , Daniel H Mathalon  9 , Thomas H McGlashan  6 , Larry J Seidman  10 , Ming T Tsuang  5 , Elaine F Walker  11 , Scott W Woods  6 , Diana O Perkins  12
Affiliations

Tobacco use and psychosis risk in persons at clinical high risk

Heather B Ward et al. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the role of tobacco use in the development of psychosis in individuals at clinical high risk.

Method: The North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study is a 2-year multi-site prospective case control study of persons at clinical high risk that aims to better understand predictors and mechanisms for the development of psychosis. The cohort consisted of 764 clinical high risk and 279 healthy comparison subjects. Clinical assessments included tobacco and substance use and several risk factors associated with smoking in general population studies.

Results: Clinical high risk subjects were more likely to smoke cigarettes than unaffected subjects (light smoking odds ratio [OR] = 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9-5; heavy smoking OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.7-13.7). In both groups, smoking was associated with mood, substance use, stress and perceived discrimination and in clinical high risk subjects with childhood emotional neglect and adaption to school. Clinical high risk subjects reported higher rates of several factors previously associated with smoking, including substance use, anxiety, trauma and perceived discrimination. After controlling for these potential factors, the relationship between clinical high risk state and smoking was no longer significant (light smoking OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.4-2.2; heavy smoking OR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.05-2.3). Moreover, baseline smoking status (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.82-1.65) and categorization as ever smoked (HR = 1.3, 95% CI = 0.8-2.1) did not predict time to conversion.

Conclusion: Persons at high risk for psychosis are more likely to smoke and have more factors associated with smoking than controls. Smoking status in clinical high risk subjects does not predict conversion. These findings do not support a causal relationship between smoking and psychosis.

Keywords: clinical high risk; psychosis; schizophrenia; substance use disorder; tobacco.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
CONSORT diagram. COPS, criteria of psychosis-risk syndromes
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Odds ratios for the risk of clinical high risk status as predicted by light and heavy smoking status model included tobacco use, marijuana use, alcohol use, age, ethnicity, academic performance, academic adjustment, depression, anxiety, social anxiety, daily stressors, life events and perceived discrimination as covariates. *95% CI > 1
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Kaplan-Meier survival curve stratified on smoking status for subjects at clinical high risk for conversion to psychosis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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