ADULTS who suffer from depression are twice as likely to smoke and also smoke more heavily than adults who are not depressed.
A study just released shows 43 per cent of all adults aged 20 and older who suffer from depression smoked cigarettes, compared with 22 per cent of adults who were not depressed.
Data was compiled by the US National Centre for Health Statistics.
The phenomenon was the most marked among men between the ages of 40 and 54 and women between the ages of 20 and 39.
More than half of men with depression, aged 40-54, were smokers compared with less than a quarter of men in the same age group who were not depressed.
Half of women aged 20-39 who suffered depression smoked compared with 21 per cent of women who were not depressed.
Almost three in 10 adults with depression smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day, which was almost twice the rate for adult smokers who were not depressed.
Even adults with mild depressive symptoms were more likely to smoke than adults with no symptoms at all of the chronic illness.
Symptoms of depression can be physical or psychological and include changes in sleeping and eating patterns, reduced sex drive, excessive fatigue or feelings of worthlessness or guilt.
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