Association of depression and smoking cessation: outcomes of an 18-year retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background

Depression is frequently associated with unsuccessful smoking cessation.

Objective

In this study, we investigated the impact of depression history on smoking cessation success in a clinical setting.

Methods

This retrospective study included 726 patients who visited our smoking cessation clinic between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2018. Kaplan–Meier analyses and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to perform univariate and multivariate analyses of smoking cessation success factors.

Results

Among the 726 patients, 76 had a history of depression and demonstrated significantly lower 12-week quit rate compared to those without (33.6% vs. 69.6%, p < .001). Multivariate Cox analysis revealed a significant association between abstinence rate and history of depression (hazard ratio 2.251, 95% CI 1.505–3.315, p < .001), history of schizophrenia (hazard ratio 2.716, 95% CI 1.427–4.840, p = .003), and Fagerström Nicotine Dependence Test scores (hazard ratio 1.519, 95% CI 1.053–2.197, p = .025).

Conclusions

Our findings suggested that a history of depression is a significant prognostic factor for smoking cessation, underscoring the need for targeted interventions for patients with a history of depression. The findings of this study are subject to potential selection bias due to recruitment from a single hospital, which may limit the generalizability of our results. This study highlights the necessity for novel, specialized smoking cessation therapies to support patients with a history of depression in their cessation journey.

Keywords:

• Smoking cessation
• depression
• retrospective study
• smoking cessation clinic

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Ritsuko Terasaka, Dr. Keiko Uragami, and Dr. Keiko Ihara for their support at the smoking cessation clinic. The authors would also like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for providing English language review.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statements

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [H.K.], upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.