研究发现吸烟会增加患精神分裂症的风险

Study: Smoking May Increase Risk of Schizophrenia 研究发现吸烟会增加患精神分裂症的风险

Studies have linked cigarette smoking to a number of health problems, including lung cancer and heart disease. Now, a new study shows a possible link between smoking and the disabling brain disorder¹ schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia hear and see things that are not real. Patients also may believe that others want to harm them.

Cigarette smoking is very common among people with mental disorders², especially those with schizophrenia.

Sameer Jauhar noted³ the connection.

“As a psychiatrist⁴ it’s always something you think about, because you always see patients with psychotic illnesses smoking. People generally put it down to self-medication.”

Sameer Jauhar is a psychiatric researcher at King’s College London. He spoke⁵ recently during a podcast to the online journal, The Lancet Psychiatry⁶. The journal published his study, which noted the relationship between cigarette smoking and schizophrenia.

Dr. Jauhar and a King’s College team found that smoking may in some way increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. They examined 61 studies from researchers around the world. They found that smoking is three times more common among schizophrenic patients coming to treatment for the first time compared to the general population.

James MacCabe was one of the writers of a report on the study. He is a doctor of psychiatric research at King’s College. He says he was not surprised to find that more than half of people with schizophrenia smoke. He says the finding raises questions about the belief that people who have mental disorders smoke to ease their symptoms.

“If the explanation was self-medication, you would expect that when people started to develop schizophrenia they would be no more likely to smoke than anybody else, and the smoking would then develop in response to the symptoms.”

The study found that those who developed schizophrenia began smoking at a younger age than other smokers⁷, before their mental problems appeared.

There is also a suggestion about the drug nicotine⁸, but not the findings to support it. Nicotine is found in tobacco products. The researchers suspect nicotine may help fuel production of the brain chemical dopamine. This chemical affects the parts of the brain that control how a person reacts to praise and pleasure. Increased levels of dopamine have been seen in people with mental illness. Medicines used to treat schizophrenia work to reduce dopamine activity in a patient’s brain.

James MacCabe says there is not enough evidence yet to confirm the link between cigarette smoking and the development of schizophrenia. But when the link is confirmed, he says, people who have a family history of the illness might be advised not to smoke.

“There are many reasons why we should try to reduce rates of smoking in the population for physical health reasons. But this suggests that possibly doing so would also actually benefit people’s mental health.”

The researchers are calling for more studies on the possible link between smoking and nicotine dependency in the development of psychotic disorders.

Words in This Story

psychiatrist – n. a doctor who treats mental or emotional disorders

psychotic – adj. having or relating to a very serious mental disorder

self-medication – n. the act of using a particular medicine or engaging in a certain kind of behavior that is not ordered by a doctor and which may not be physically⁹ or mentally healthy

podcast – n. an audio program that is loaded onto a website and which can be downloaded onto a listening device

symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which shows that a disease is present; a sign

response – n. a reaction to something else

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

7 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

8 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。