Effects of Depression and Anxiety Scores on Smoking Cessation Treatment

Objective: Smoking prevalence is high in many psychiatric diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate depression and anxiety effect among smoking cessation treatment. Methods: Records of patients who admitted to the smoking cessation clinic in Health Sciences University, Konya Education and Research Hospital, in 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. A total of 560 patients’ records were investigated. Records consisted of Beck Depression Scale (BDS), Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS), Fagerstr？m Nicotine Dependence Test (FNDT), carbon-monoxide (CO) measurement, and sociodemographic questionnaire form. Patients were called by phone at the 3rd month following initiation of cessation treatment, and asked whether they quit smoking or not. Although this study was started with total 560 patients, the study was completed with 517 patients who could be reached by telephone 3 months later. Results: The mean age of quitters was higher than the ones who could not (p=0.002). Contrary, the mean CO levels (p<0.001), and the mean BDS (p<0.001) and BAS (p<0.001) scores were significantly higher in patients who failed to quit. Remaining characteristics of the patients were not statistically different between groups. Conclusions: High depression and anxiety scores decreases the success rates of smoking cessation treatments. Assessment of these patients regarding anxiety and depression, providing psychosocial counselling by health professionals together with the medical treatment, and consulting with a psychiatrist when needed are important steps for achieving high quit success in these patients