MDNews - San Antonio

BY HANNAH STUART "A MONG THOSE W HO successfully quit smoking, levels of depression went down," says Leonie Brose, PhD, MSc, lecturer at King 's College London and researcher on the study, which was funded by Cancer Research UK and led by researchers from King's College London and Charles University in Prague. "[T]wo-thirds (66.3 per cent) of those who had moderate or severe depression when smoking described no or minimal symptoms during a one-year follow up," Cancer Research UK noted in a news release about the fi ndings. The 835 patients who quit were part of a group of 3,775 patients who were tracked using data collected from a smoking ces- sation clinic t hat wa s conducted in t he Czech Republic from 2008 through 2014. The clinic operates using evidence-based procedures, and Brose says it has high success rates in helping smokers abstain for a year or longer. "During the fi rst visit, the degree of tobacco dependency is evaluated, a medical history is collected, and a basic physical exam is performed," he says. "During the second visit, physical and psychosocial tobacco/nicotine dependence is discussed. At the end of the second visit, the patient and therapist decide the subsequent course of treatment, including pharmacotherapy type and dosage. They also plan the target quit day and the date of the follow-up visit." Subsequent visits take place, for the most part, in two-week intervals during the fi rst three months, followed by four-week intervals during the next three months. Patients then check in a year after their target quit date for their fi nal visit. DEPRESSION AND SMOKING: A CATCH-22 Depression ma kes it more diffi cult for individua ls to quit smoking in general — data from the study showed individuals reporting any kind of depression were less likely to abstain a year out than those reporting no depression. That mea ns robust suppor t of ef for ts to stop smoking is critical. " We know that many people with menta l illness want to stop smoking," says Paul Aveyard, PhD, MRCP, FRCGP, FFPH, Professor of Behavioral Medicine and researcher on a related study that appeared in The BMJ in 2014. " We also know they are less likely to succeed, so for them, the best advice is to get the best help to stop smoking — behavioral support and smoking cessation medication." Aveyard suggests that healthcare providers — particularly those with patients with menta l hea lth issues — can play a bigger role in their patients' success than they may realize. "The main concern is that healthcare providers think they are being kind by suggesting that smoking is the least of a person's worries," he says. "Smoking is the main cause of premature illness and death in people who smoke, and may worsen their mental state. It's important to think positively and communicate a positive image of life without cigarettes." n Tobacco Cessation SMOKERS LIVING WITH DEPRESSION WHO QUIT THE HABIT BY USING CERTAIN SMOKING CESSATION SERVICES COULD GAIN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED MENTAL HE ALTH, ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY IN ANNALS OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE. Eases Depression Symptoms in Smokers, Research Shows SPECIAL CLINICAL SECTION: ONCOLOGY M D N E W S .C O M /// M D N E W S S A N A N T O N I O ■ 2 017 1 9

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