41% percent of psychiatric disorder patients smoke twice than the non psychiatric patients.They form 44.3% of the smokers in the United States.These are the latest findings from the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) in February 2009.This article tries to gain further insight in to the matter.
Relation between HPA axis and Smoking:
- The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis regulates moods,sexuality,energy storage and expenditure in our body.
- Nicotine is directly associated with these aspects of our body being the prime component of addiction in smoking.
- HPA axis is responsible in the release of hormones and their secretion in the body.
- Nicotine is infamous in disturbing the hormone functioning in the body in unpredictable ways.
- That is why,the HPA axis as a part of its job develops nicotine tolerance in our body.
What is the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis or HPA axis?
- It is the name given to the network between the Hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain and the adrenal glands of the kidney.
- These organs interact mutually with each other through this network.
- These interactions are responsible for regulation of many processes in our body.
What Experts have to say?
- The findings suggest relation between the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis in our body and Nicotine.
- Further research is required to understand the mechanism behind nicotine dependence and psychiatric disorders.
- Lack of credible data of smoking and its impact among the psychiatric patients is a possible reason of delay in research.
Till then,let us go by the new adage,Prevention is better than Cure.But Awareness is the BEST !!!
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