Although quitting smoking implies an improvement in our general health and a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and in the development of cancer, now, a new joint study from the universities of Oxford, Birmingham and Kings College London, has shown that the effects of quitting smoking are also felt on mental health .
Mental disorder specialists are often reluctant to encourage their patients to quit tobacco addiction, believing that this would worsen their mental health. To test or refute this hypothesis, the researchers analyzed the results of 26 studies of adults who had their mental health assessed before quitting and at least 6 weeks after quitting. The participants had an average age of 44 years and smoked around 20 cigarettes a day.
After this they followed up for the next six months. The results, which have been published in the British Medical Journal , revealed that patients improved in all these areas: depression, anxiety, stress, quality of life at a psychological level and a more positive outlook on life, determining that the effects The benefits of quitting were similar to or even outperformed antidepressant treatments for mood and anxiety disorders.
Challenging the widespread assumption that smoking has benefits for people with mental disorders, this study finds the opposite position: quitting smoking also improves mental health.
