Mental health screening and increased risk for anxiety and depression among treatment-seeking smokers

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the risk for mental health disorders between smokers and non-smokers and to assess the risk for depression and anxiety according to addiction severity. METHODS This cross-sectional study assesses the mental health status and relationship with the severity of nicotine addiction in a sample of smokers admitted to Pamukkale University Hospital Smoking Cessation Clinic (n = 101) from 1 June 2012 to 31 August 2012 compared to a group of non-smokers from the general population (n = 101). We conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews to collect sociodemographic data; we assessed the participants' mental health status with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and we measured nicotine addiction severity with the Fagerström Test. RESULTS The risk for mental illness reported by smokers based on the GHQ-12 was significantly higher than that for non-smokers (p = 0.001). The anxiety and depression scores according to HADS were higher among smokers (16.8% and 22.8%, respectively) than non-smokers (4.0% and 5.0%, respectively) (p = 0.006 and p = 0.001, respectively). The nicotine addiction severity was higher in smokers with higher anxiety and depression scores (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS We found high scores for mental illness in treatment-seeking smokers compared with non-smokers. The risk for anxiety and depression was higher among smokers. Increased nicotine addiction severity was associated with increased risk for mental illness and increased scores of anxiety and depression.