Cigarette smoking and progressive brain volume loss in schizophrenia

N. E.M. Van Haren*, P. C.M.P. Koolschijn, W. Cahn, H. G. Schnack, H. E. Hulshoff Pol, R. S. Kahn

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It is unknown whether the reported brain loss in schizophrenia can be attributed to the effects of tobacco smoking. 96 Patients (54 smokers/42 non-smokers) and 113 control subjects (35/78) were included in a 5-year longitudinal MRI study. Despite the higher prevalence of smoking behavior and the higher number of cigarettes consumed per day in the patients, cigarette smoking did not explain the excessive cerebral (gray matter) volume decreases in the patients. Moreover, smoking was not associated with brain volume change over time in the healthy subjects. However, extremely heavy smoking may contribute to excessive gray matter volume loss in schizophrenia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)454-458
Number of pages5
JournalEuropean Neuropsychopharmacology
Volume20
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2010
Externally publishedYes

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