VOA标准英语2010年-Second-hand Tobacco Smoke Can Cause Ps

（单词翻译）

Study finds mental health issues such as depression and anxiety increase along with exposure

Art Chimes | St. Louis, Missouri 15 June 2010
 

A new study finds that nonsmokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to experience psychiatric distress³.

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Archives of General Psychiatry⁴

In recent years, medical evidence has pointed⁵ to the harmful physical effects of second-hand⁶ smoke. Now, a new study adds to evidence that non-smokers² who live or work around smokers can experience psychological harm as well.

Dr. Mark Hamer of University College London says previous research found that smokers have a higher rate of mental illness, specifically depression.

"The problem with that body of research is that it's difficult to interpret because obviously people with existing mental health problems use cigarettes to self-medicate," he says.

In this study, Hamer and his colleagues combined measurements of tobacco exposure with interviews focused on mental health issues. They found that nonsmokers exposed to tobacco smoke were more likely to experience psychiatric distress, and that the mental health issues increased along with the tobacco exposure.

"We found that people with high exposure to second hand smoke had increased levels of depression and anxiety," says Hamer.

They also found that people exposed to second-hand smoke - like smokers - were more likely to be admitted to a hospital for a psychiatric illness than people without the exposure to tobacco smoke.

To accurately⁷ assess the level of second-hand smoke exposure, researchers tested for cotinine, which is produced when nicotine⁸ is metabolized. But they also asked the people in the study where they were exposed to tobacco smoke. Perhaps surprisingly, says Hamer, the answer wasn't at work, restaurants, or pubs.

"The people that are at the highest level of passive smoke are actually the ones reporting exposure in their own homes. So in other words, if you live with a smoker¹, you really are at very high risk of demonstrating high levels of second-hand smoke exposure."

Dr. Mark Hamer's study on the psychological impact of second-hand tobacco smoke appears in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a journal published by the American Medical Association.