Alnashri Ahmed, Albalwi Asheqah, Abd El-Fatah Nesrin K
Preventive Medicine, Postgraduate Training Program for Preventive Medicine, Taif, SAU.
Public Health Administration, Ministry of Health, Taif, SAU.
Cureus. 2025 Aug 7;17(8):e89532. doi: 10.7759/cureus.89532. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Smoking cigarettes is increasingly becoming a strong focus of concern for public health in Saudi Arabia, especially with the rise in mental health disorders. This research explores how depression, anxiety, and stress are related to the level of dependence on nicotine.
This cross-sectional study involved 310 adult smokers and utilized face-to-face interviews to collect data on participants' sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, nicotine dependence through the Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and mental health status using a validated Arabic version of the short form of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21).
The study sample consisted mostly of males (n=232, 74.8%), with a mean age of 42.3 years. Nicotine dependence was significantly elevated, with high dependence noted in 52.3% (n=162) of participants. Mental health symptoms were notable and severe among respondents: 44.8% (n=139) reported severe depression, 29.7% (n=92) had severe anxiety, and 38.1% (n=118) experienced stress of considerable severity. Multivariate analysis suggested strong correlations between nicotine dependence and mental health outcomes, noting that high dependence increased the odds of depression by 30.36 times (95% CI: 7.65-120.46) and stress by 27.20 times (95% CI: 6.20-119.39). Having a chronic disease (61.9% of participants, n=192) was significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes (depression OR = 13.81, 95% CI: 1.24-154.10). Furthermore, participants with income less than 3,000 SAR/month exhibited considerably higher anxiety than their higher income counterparts (OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04-0.75 for the 3,000-6,000 SAR group).
This study highlights the relationship between nicotine dependence and mental disorders in Saudi smokers. Such mental disorders were further linked to chronic illnesses and socioeconomic elements such as income. Moreover, there is an apparent need for the Saudi primary healthcare system to incorporate comprehensive mental health services alongside smoking cessation services at the primary care level, advancing healthcare in Saudi Arabia.
在沙特阿拉伯，吸烟日益成为公共卫生关注的重点，尤其是随着心理健康障碍的增多。本研究探讨抑郁、焦虑和压力如何与尼古丁依赖程度相关。
这项横断面研究纳入了310名成年吸烟者，通过面对面访谈收集参与者的社会人口学和生活方式因素数据，使用尼古丁依赖Fagerstrom测试（FTND）评估尼古丁依赖情况，并使用经过验证的阿拉伯语版抑郁焦虑压力量表简表（DASS-21）评估心理健康状况。
研究样本主要为男性（n=232，74.8%），平均年龄42.3岁。尼古丁依赖显著升高，52.3%（n=162）的参与者存在高度依赖。受访者的心理健康症状明显且严重：44.8%（n=139）报告有严重抑郁，29.7%（n=92）有严重焦虑，38.1%（n=118）经历了相当严重的压力。多变量分析表明尼古丁依赖与心理健康结果之间存在强相关性，指出高度依赖使抑郁几率增加30.36倍（95%置信区间：7.65-120.46），压力几率增加27.20倍（95%置信区间：6.20-119.39）。患有慢性病（192名参与者，占61.9%）与较差的心理健康结果显著相关（抑郁比值比=13.81，95%置信区间：1.24-154.10）。此外，月收入低于3000沙特里亚尔的参与者焦虑程度明显高于高收入者（3000-6000沙特里亚尔组的比值比=0.16，95%置信区间：0.04-0.75）。
本研究凸显了沙特吸烟者中尼古丁依赖与精神障碍之间的关系。此类精神障碍还与慢性病和收入等社会经济因素相关。此外，沙特初级医疗保健系统显然需要在初级保健层面将全面的心理健康服务与戒烟服务相结合，以推动沙特阿拉伯的医疗保健发展。
