It has been observed that women smokers usually find it hard to quit
smoking. A new study has found the reason behind it. The study was
published in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine in the US have provided the reason that because women brains respond quite differently to nicotine than male smokers, they find it difficult to give up smoking.
Nicotine receptors in the brain are responsible to enhance the desire of smoking more. When a person smokes, the number of these nicotine receptors in the brain increases, for which the more a person smokes the more he wants to smoke.
However, the researchers noticed a strange behavior in this context during the study. They found that while male smokers had a greater number of nicotine receptors compared to nonsmokers, women smokers had about the same number of nicotine receptors as nonsmokers. The study observed this gender effect.
The study also suggests that besides the effect of nicotine, other factors such as the smell and act of holding a cigarette may also play a greater role in enhancing the habit of smoking. In this aspect also women exhibited a stronger habitual behavior.
Nicotine replacement therapies are applied to make someone quit the habit of smoking. However, the study suggests that if we are on our way to make a woman quit smoking, we need to adopt other therapies, such as exercise or relaxation techniques along with the nicotine therapy.
In the study, the researchers scanned the brains of 52 men and 58 women, about half of whom were smokers. They examined nicotine receptors in their brain by using a radioactive marker. Then the Smokers in the study were asked to abstain from smoking for a week.
When after a week they were again tested, the researchers found that male smokers had about 16 % more nicotine receptors in the striatum, 17 per cent more in the cerebellum, and 13 to 17 per cent more in the cortical region of the brain compared with male nonsmokers. But interestingly, Female smokers had similar numbers of nicotine receptors in these regions of brain as in male nonsmokers.
Hence, the study suggested that besides nicotine therapy some other therapies are also needed.
Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine in the US have provided the reason that because women brains respond quite differently to nicotine than male smokers, they find it difficult to give up smoking.
Nicotine receptors in the brain are responsible to enhance the desire of smoking more. When a person smokes, the number of these nicotine receptors in the brain increases, for which the more a person smokes the more he wants to smoke.
However, the researchers noticed a strange behavior in this context during the study. They found that while male smokers had a greater number of nicotine receptors compared to nonsmokers, women smokers had about the same number of nicotine receptors as nonsmokers. The study observed this gender effect.
The study also suggests that besides the effect of nicotine, other factors such as the smell and act of holding a cigarette may also play a greater role in enhancing the habit of smoking. In this aspect also women exhibited a stronger habitual behavior.
Nicotine replacement therapies are applied to make someone quit the habit of smoking. However, the study suggests that if we are on our way to make a woman quit smoking, we need to adopt other therapies, such as exercise or relaxation techniques along with the nicotine therapy.
In the study, the researchers scanned the brains of 52 men and 58 women, about half of whom were smokers. They examined nicotine receptors in their brain by using a radioactive marker. Then the Smokers in the study were asked to abstain from smoking for a week.
When after a week they were again tested, the researchers found that male smokers had about 16 % more nicotine receptors in the striatum, 17 per cent more in the cerebellum, and 13 to 17 per cent more in the cortical region of the brain compared with male nonsmokers. But interestingly, Female smokers had similar numbers of nicotine receptors in these regions of brain as in male nonsmokers.
Hence, the study suggested that besides nicotine therapy some other therapies are also needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment