title: The effect of nicotine dependence on psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our study aims to determine the prevalence of nicotine dependence and investigate the effect of nicotine dependence on psychopathology among schizophrenia patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out in an outpatient psychiatric clinic at a general hospital in Malaysia. 180 recruited subjects were administered the Malay version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), and the Malay version of Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND-M) questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of nicotine dependence among the subjects was 38.1% (n = 69) and they were mainly composed of male gender, Malay ethnicity, being treated with atypical antipsychotics, and taking other illicit drugs or alcohol. Subjects with severe nicotine dependence scored less in the negative subscale of PANSS compared with the nonsmokers (P = 0.011). On performing the hierarchy multiple regressions, dependence status still significantly predicted negative scores after adjusting the confounders (t = -2.87, P = 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of nicotine use disorder among schizophrenia patients in this study is higher than that of the general population in Malaysia. The significant association between nicotine dependence and negative psychopathology symptoms will help the healthcare practitioners in their management of nicotine dependence among schizophrenia patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Selayang, Lebuhraya Selayang-Kepong, 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nik Nasyrah
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Bt Nek Mohamed
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Aili Hanim
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Binti Hashim
authors.affiliation: Clinical Academic Unit (Family Medicine), Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, No.1 Jalan Sarjana 1, Kota Ilmu, Educity@Iskandar, 79200 Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Huai Seng
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0904-0503
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Manveen Kaur
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Harbajan Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chong Guan
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Jambunathan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents