Department of Psychology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2011 Nov;13(11):1052-8. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntr113. Epub 2011 Jul 20.
Independent lines of research suggest that smoking increases the prospective risk of panic disorder. Studies that have examined the hypothesized link between nicotine withdrawal and panic have typically employed light smokers or lacked optimal control groups. Our laboratory team previously found, for example, that smokers who abstained from cigarettes for 12 hr demonstrated greater fear reactivity to a CO(2) rebreathing challenge than nonsmokers. However, the absence of a smoking-as-usual group limited our ability to draw conclusions about the potential role of nicotine withdrawal.
We exposed 27 heavy smokers who abstained from smoking for 12 hr and 27 heavy smokers who smoked as usual to a 5-min CO(2) rebreathing challenge.
More intense prechallenge nicotine withdrawal symptoms (regardless of group status) were associated with more severe panicky symptoms and a stronger urge to escape during the challenge, even after we controlled for prechallenge anxiety and daily cigarette use. Unexpectedly, group status did not predict challenge reactivity.
Smokers who regularly experience intense withdrawal symptoms, regardless of length of smoking abstinence, may be at heightened risk for experiencing panic attacks.
独立的研究表明，吸烟会增加未来患恐慌症的风险。研究假设尼古丁戒断与恐慌之间存在联系，但这些研究通常采用轻度吸烟者，或者缺乏最佳的对照组。例如，我们实验室团队之前发现，12 小时不吸烟的吸烟者对 CO2 再呼吸挑战的恐惧反应大于不吸烟者。然而，由于缺乏常规吸烟组，我们无法得出关于尼古丁戒断潜在作用的结论。
我们让 27 名重度吸烟者在 12 小时内不吸烟，并让 27 名重度吸烟者照常吸烟，然后对他们进行 5 分钟的 CO2 再呼吸挑战。
无论组别的状态如何，更强烈的戒烟前尼古丁戒断症状（prechallenge nicotine withdrawal symptoms）与更严重的恐慌症状以及在挑战期间更强烈的逃避冲动有关，即使我们控制了预挑战焦虑和每日吸烟量。出乎意料的是，组别的状态并不能预测挑战反应。
经常经历强烈戒断症状的吸烟者，无论吸烟时间长短，可能更有可能经历恐慌发作。
