Is the personality characteristic “impulsive sensation seeking” correlated to differences in current smoking between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients?

Hyphantis, Thomas; Antoniou, Katerina; Tomenson, Barbara; Tsianos, Epameinondas; Mavreas, Venetsanos; Creed, Francis

doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2009.09.002

« Previous Next »General Hospital Psychiatry
Volume 32, Issue 1 , Pages 57-65, January 2010

Is the personality characteristic “impulsive sensation seeking” correlated to differences in current smoking between ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients?

Thomas Hyphantis, M.D., Ph.D.
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece
- Psychiatry Research Group, Medical School, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece. Tel.: +30 26510 97322.
Katerina Antoniou, Ph.D.
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece
Barbara Tomenson, M.Sc.
- Psychiatry Research Group, Medical School, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK
Epameinondas Tsianos, M.D., Ph.D.
- First Division of Internal Medicine and Hepato-Gastroenterology Unit, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece
Venetsanos Mavreas, M.D., Ph.D.
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece
Francis Creed, M.D., F.Med.Sci.
- Psychiatry Research Group, Medical School, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9WL, UK

Received 10 June 2009; accepted 8 September 2009. published online 05 October 2009.

Abstract

Background

Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with smoking, while ulcerative colitis (UC) is largely a disease of nonsmokers. We aimed to test whether the smoking-linked personality characteristic “impulsive sensation seeking” (ImpSS) is correlated to the differences in smoking in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods

In 185 IBD patients, the General Health Questionnaire and the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) were administered. The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence was used to assess smokers' nicotine dependence.

Results

CD patients were twice as likely to be active smokers than UC patients. CD patients presented higher ImpSS scores than UC patients, but the differences became nonsignificant after adjustment for age, gender, education and psychological distress. Multivariate analyses, however, showed that the relationship of ImpSS with current smoking was stronger in CD patients. Moderator analysis showed that the relationship of ImpSS with nicotine dependence was also greater in smokers with CD than in those with UC. No other ZKPQ subscale was correlated to disease type, current smoking or nicotine dependence.

Conclusion

ImpSS is associated with current smoking and nicotine dependence in IBD, and these associations are stronger in CD. These findings might be relevant to more effective interventions aiming at smoking cessation in CD patients.

Keywords: Individual differences, Smoking, Inflammatory bowel disease, Personality, Psychological distress