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Smoking predicts suicidality in BD patients 

Current cigarette smoking is a predictor for current and 9-month suicidal ideation and behavior in bipolar disorder (BD) patients, suggest US study results.

Studies have shown that BD patients are four times as likely to have nicotine dependence than the general population. Furthermore, cigarette smoking in BD individuals has been associated with suicidal behavior, although the precise relationship between the two remains unclear.

To investigate, Michael Ostacher (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts) and colleagues examined the association between smoking, suicidality, and prospective suicide attempts in 116 BD patients over a 9-month period.

In total, 27% of patients were smokers who showed significantly higher rates of lifetime substance abuse disorders (61% vs 33%), were younger (37.3 vs 46.7 years), and had an earlier age of BD onset (14.4 vs 18.4 years) compared with non-smokers.

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