Psychiatric Disorders Linked to Relapse in Smokers Trying to Quit
: Presented at ADAA
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By Louise Gagnon
CHICAGO -- April 2, 2014 -- The presence of major depressive disorders, generalised anxiety disorders, and panic attacks are barriers to abstinence in smokers who have tried to quit, according to a study presented here at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA).
"We wanted to examine what factors lead to smoking relapse," said Jafar Bakhshaie, MD, Anxiety and Health Research Laboratory and Substance Use Treatment Clinic, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, on March 28.
There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that smokers are more likely to have a psychiatric disorder than nonsmokers.
"Some disorders like depression and generalised anxiety are highly comorbid with smoking," said Dr. Bakhshaie, noting that smokers attempt to quit, but many times the attempts end in relapse.
Dr. Bakhshaie and colleagues pulled data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) Survey Waves I and II. They determined the relationships between smoking relapse among past smokers who had successful cessation and current depression/anxiety disorders, the incidence of depression/anxiety disorders, and ongoing depression/anxiety disorders between 1994 and 2005 among former smokers who smoked daily.
Of those who relapsed, about 40% had depression, generalised anxiety disorders, or panic attacks, versus about 25% of former smokers who remained abstinent. The presence of major depression, generalised anxiety disorder, and panic attacks at baseline were predictive of a heightened likelihood of smoking relapse by the end of the follow-up period compared with those who did not have these disorders.
The study controlled for variables such as demographics, alcohol/substance use disorders, socioeconomic status, neuroticism, sex, and childhood maltreatment.
"It seems that quitters who have major depression or general anxiety face a greater chance of relapse," said Dr. Bakhshaie. "They have less chance of abstinence from smoking."
[Presentation title: The Role of Major Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Attacks in Relapse to Smoking Among Adults in the United States: 1994-2005. Abstract 29]