title: Cigarette smoking, psychopathology and cognitive function in first-episode drug-naive patients with schizophrenia: a case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although patients with chronic schizophrenia have substantially higher smoking rates than either the general population or patients with other mental illnesses, drug-naive patients with a first episode of schizophrenia have received little systemic study. This study examined smoking rates, the association between smoking and symptom severity and cognitive function in Chinese first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients using cross-sectional and case-control designs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and forty-four drug-naive FES patients and 256 healthy controls matched for gender, age and education completed the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Patients were also rated on the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate and quantity of smoking were not significantly higher among FES patients compared to the general population. Among patients, smokers scored higher than non-smokers on the total PANSS and the positive symptom subscale scores. There were no significant associations between cognitive function and smoking in either FES patients or healthy controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to studies in patients with chronic schizophrenia, drug-naive FES patients did not smoke more frequently than the general population. Furthermore, patients with psychotic disorders who smoked did not exhibit significant cognitive differences compared with those who did not smoke. However, smoking may have other detrimental effects on physical and mental health, for example on positive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine and Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA. xyzhang@bcm.edu
authors.forename: X Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Xiu
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Haile
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosenheck
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kosten
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kosten
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult