| Title: | Investigating the Relationship Between Smoking Behavior and Global Brain Volume |
| Journal: | Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science |
| Published: | 6 Oct 2023 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38130847/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.09.006 |
Publication 9415
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Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown that brain volume is negatively associated with cigarette smoking, but there is an ongoing debate about whether smoking causes lowered brain volume or a lower brain volume is a risk factor for smoking. We address this debate through multiple methods that evaluate directionality: Bradford Hill's criteria, which are commonly used to understand a causal relationship in epidemiological studies, and mediation analysis.</p>
Methods: In 32,094 participants of European descent from the UK Biobank dataset, we examined the relationship between a history of daily smoking and brain volumes, as well as an association of genetic risk score to ever smoking with brain volume.</p>
Results: A history of daily smoking was strongly associated with decreased brain volume, and a history of heavier smoking was associated with a greater decrease in brain volume. The strongest association was between total gray matter volume and a history of daily smoking (effect size = -2964 mm3, p = 2.04 × 10-16), and there was a dose-response relationship with more pack years smoked associated with a greater decrease in brain volume. A polygenic risk score for smoking initiation was strongly associated with a history of daily smoking (effect size = 0.05, p = 4.20 × 10-84), but only modestly associated with total gray matter volume (effect size = -424 mm3, p = .01). Mediation analysis indicated that a history of daily smoking mediated the relationship between the smoking initiation polygenic risk score and total gray matter volume.</p>
Conclusions: A history of daily smoking is strongly associated with a decreased total brain volume.</p>
9 Authors
- Yoonhoo Chang
- Vera Thornton
- Ariya Chaloemtoem
- Andrey P. Anokhin
- Janine Bijsterbosch
- Ryan Bogdan
- Dana B. Hancock
- Eric Otto Johnson
- Laura J. Bierut
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