Smoking Related to Anxiety and Depression in Greek Medical Staff

We assessed the relation of anxiety and depression to smoking behavior in a sample of 80 physicians and surgeons, using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. 27 doctors were nonsmokers, 14 were former smokers, and 39 were current smokers. Current smokers showed significantly higher Anxiety and Depression scores compared to nonsmokers and former smokers, while the latter presented significantly lower Anxiety scores than nonsmokers. In current smokers, the daily quota of cigarettes was not correlated with Anxiety or Depression scores. From our results we can hypothesize that, among medical staff, smoking behavior is more anxiery-related than depression-related. In conclusion, we believe that interventions such as stress management techniques could be effective in lessening Anxiety and diminishing the need for relief searched for in smoking.