Smoking cigarettes could contribute to the development of a psychotic illness, according to a recent study.
Researchers at King's College London found that daily smokers are three times more likely to develop schizophrenia, a disorder "symbolized by a withdrawal from reality and a sense of mental fragmentation," and at a younger age, The Financial Express reported.
"While it is always hard to determine the direction of causality, our findings indicate that smoking should be taken seriously as a possible risk factor for developing psychosis, and not dismissed simply as a consequence of the illness," researcher Dr. James MacCabe said in a statement.
Researchers analyzed 61 observational studies comprising almost 15,000 tobacco users and 273,000 non users that suggest "nicotine in cigarette smoke may be altering the brain," BBC News reported.
Their analysis found that 57 percent of people who suffered their first episode of psychosis were already smokers when it occurred. They also found that daily smokers were three times as likely to develop schizophrenia as non-smokers. The researchers also found that daily smokers developed psychotic illness around a year earlier than non-smokers.
Researchers said the findings suggest that smoking may have a causal role in psychosis, alongside other genetic and environmental factors. However, they acknowledge that despite finding an association between smoking and psychosis, the direction of causality is difficult to determine.
"While it's always hard to determine the direction of causality, our findings indicate that smoking should be taken seriously as a possible risk factor for developing psychosis," MacCabe told reporters, according to Fox News.
The findings are detailed in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.
