In summary, our results supported the self-medication hypothesis. We also found evidence that schizophrenia and ND share some genetic liability and these results did not contradict the hypothesis that smoking was a causal risk factor for schizophrenia. Assuming shared liability and a balanced contribution, we identified novel candidate genes associated with both schizophrenia and ND. Analyses of the shared genes revealed multiple pathways and an interacting network centered on long-term potentiation. These results provided some new insights for our understanding of smoking behaviors in both schizophrenia patients and the general population.
