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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Dec:36:92-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.07.009. Epub 2015 Sep 12.

Does successful smoking cessation reduce anxious arousal among treatment-seeking smokers?

Samantha G Farris  1 , Nicholas P Allan  2 , Patricia C Morales  3 , Norman B Schmidt  2 , Michael J Zvolensky  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Does successful smoking cessation reduce anxious arousal among treatment-seeking smokers?

Samantha G Farris et al. J Anxiety Disord. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: There is limited work that has examined the effect of quitting smoking on anxious arousal, an underlying dimension of anxiety symptoms and psychopathology.

Method: Smokers (n=185, 54.1% female) enrolled in a smoking cessation treatment trial were monitored post-cessation in terms of abstinence status (biochemically verified; at Weeks 1, 2, and Month 1 post-quit) and severity of panic-relevant symptoms (self-reported; at Month 1 and 3 post-quit). Structural equation models were conducted, adjusting for participant sex, age, treatment condition, and pre-cessation nicotine dependence, presence of depressive/anxiety disorders, anxious arousal, and anxiety sensitivity.

Results: After adjusting for covariates, participants who remained abstinent for one month (n=80; 43.2%) relative to those who did not (n=105; 56.8%) demonstrated significant reductions in anxious arousal at Month 1 (β=-.26, p=.04) and Month 3 post-quit (β=-.36, p=.006); abstinence status had a non-significant effect on anxious arousal severity at Month 3 after controlling for Month 1 anxious arousal (β=-.18, p=.09).

Discussion: Findings align with theoretical models of smoking-anxiety interplay and suggest that smoking cessation can result in reductions in anxious arousal.

Keywords: Hyperarousal; Prevention; Smoking cessation; Tobacco.

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Conflict of interest statement

No authors have any conflicts of interests or financial disclosures to report.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structural equation model of the standardized effects. Note: ASI-3 = Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3. FTND = Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence. Grey lines indicate non-significant pathways. Items and residual errors are omitted for clarity. The effects of covariates are in gray for clarity.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structural equation model of the standardized effects of Quit Status and covariates on Month 3 Panic. Note: ASI-3 = Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3. FTND = Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence. Items and residual errors are omitted for clarity. The effects of covariates are in gray for clarity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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