# Smoking and Mental Health in Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder doesn’t disappear with age, and understanding how lifestyle factors like smoking affect older adults living with this condition is crucial for providing effective care. While we know that smoking is linked to various health problems in younger people with bipolar disorder, very little research has examined these connections in people over age 50. This international study involving nearly 1,000 older adults with bipolar disorder helps fill this important gap by examining how smoking history relates to both mental health symptoms and physical health conditions in this age group.
The study compared three groups: people who never smoked (35%), former smokers (23%), and current smokers (42%). The findings revealed several concerning patterns. Both current and former smokers experienced more depression than those who had never smoked, even after accounting for age and sex differences. Current smokers were more likely to be taking antipsychotic medications and had higher rates of substance use disorders throughout their lives. Former smokers showed higher rates of cardiovascular disease compared to never smokers—though interestingly, this may actually motivate some people to quit smoking. Among participants without heart or lung disease, those who never smoked showed better overall functioning than current smokers.
These findings have important practical implications for everyone involved in the care of older adults with bipolar disorder. For healthcare providers, the results suggest that smoking history should be a key consideration when assessing patients, as it appears linked to more severe illness and greater depression risk. The connection between smoking and antipsychotic use hints that smokers may have a more challenging disease course. For patients and families, this research underscores the value of smoking cessation at any age—not just for physical health, but for mental health outcomes as well. Importantly, the relationship between smoking and depression persisted regardless of whether someone had heart or lung problems, suggesting that the mental health benefits of quitting extend to all older adults with bipolar disorder, not just those with existing medical complications.
Source Information
Original Title: Relationship Between Smoking and Psychiatric and Somatic Comorbidities in Older Age Bipolar Disorder: Lien entre le tabagisme et les affections psychiatriques et somatiques concomitantes chez les personnes âgées atteintes de trouble bipolaire.
Authors: Howland M, Mahajan A, Chen P, Almeida O, Altınbaş K
Journal: Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie (Oct 2025)
PubMed ID: 41129665
DOI: 10.1177/07067437251387658
This summary was generated using AI to make recent geriatrics and frailty research more accessible. Please refer to the original article for complete details.
