Smoking may cause schizophrenia, researchers say.

Smoking tobacco could cause symptoms of Schizophrenia, a study by Kings College London says.

In the study published today british researchers highlight their analysis of 61 separate studies, all of which suggest nicotine in cigarette smoke may be altering the brain of people of a younger age.

The scientists used data from almost 290,000 people to come to this result of smoking habits, also taking into account genetics and environmental factors. The study featured 15,000 smokers and 273,000 non-smokers. They found 57 per cent of people treated for psychosis were smokers.

The study that was published in the esteemed Lancet Psychiatry medical journal has got experts saying that is a “pretty strong case” but will need more research.

Smoking has been associated with psychosis in previous studies, but it is now believed that schizophrenia patients are more likely to smoke. This is because they use it as a form of self-medication to ease the symptoms, such as hearing voices or having hallucinations.

Dr James MacCabe, one of the researchers of Kings College London, said: “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”.

Majority of smokers do not develop schizophrenia, but the researchers do believe the risk is increasing.

The overall outcome of the condition is one in every 100 people normally, which may be increased to two per 100 by smoking.

The researchers said nicotine altered levels of a brain chemical called dopamine, which has already been associated in psychosis.

The charity Rethink Mental Illness said: "We know that 42% of all cigarettes smoked in England are by people with mental health problems, and so any new findings about the link between smoking and psychosis is a potential worry.

Souce: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33464480

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3155559/How-smoking-raise-risk-psychosis-Nicotine-interfere-brain-responds-pleasure-reward-leading-mental-conditions.html

Image: http://www.acneeinstein.com/does-smoking-cause-acne/

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