Influence of having a psychiatric diagnosis on smoking cessation

• Main Authors: F. Javier Ayesta, Fermnando Martin, Sergio Veiga
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Publishing 2017-05-01
• Series: Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
• Subjects: smoking cessation psychiatric
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/tpc/Influence-of-having-a-psychiatric-diagnosis-on-smoking-cessation,71198,0,2.html

Introduction The impact of having a psychiatric diagnosis on smoking cessation is an area of interest. Material and Methods This study was performed among patients that attended in UDESTA Tobacco Unit in 2006-2014. The number of patients with a psychiatric diagnosis was 1359; 2425 did not have one. Results Patients with a psychiatric disorder tend to quit significantly less than those without it. This is observed at quitting day (59.9% vs 68.2%; p<0.001), at 6 months (34.5% vs 45.6%; p<0.001), and at 12 months (27.1% vs 37.0; p<0.001). Having a second psychiatric diagnosis decreases additionally the likelyhood of a quit attempt. Multivariant analysis show that the factors that influence quitting, both in psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients, are: cannabis consumption (x0.42 and x0.27), the highest number of days abstinent in a previous quit attempt (x1.0016 and x1.0010 per day), the degree of familiar support (x1,048 and 1,038 per point), the score in Fagerström test (x0.92 and x0.90 per point), and the score in Goldberg-Depression subscale (x0.94 and x0.94point). All differences are statistically signicant. When results are analyzed adjusting by the variable that exerts influence on quitting (dependence, support, depression, stress), differences between psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients persist. Even though their abstinence rates are lower, our results show that persons with a psychiatric diagnosis want to quit as much as those without it, and that they can do it (27% at a year). Conclusions Since the characteristics associated with smoking in these patients are not alone responsible for the cessation differences, this seems to suggest that the own psychiatric condition is also responsible for it.