Erika Litvin Bloom

Development and preliminary randomized controlled trial of a distress tolerance treatment for smokers with a history of early lapse.

INTRODUCTION An inability to tolerate distress is a significant predictor of early smoking lapse following a cessation attempt. We conducted a preliminary randomized controlled trial to compare a distress tolerance (DT) treatment that incorporated elements of exposure-based therapies and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to standard smoking cessation treatment (ST). METHODS Smokers with a history of early lapse in prior quit attempts received either DT (N = 27; 9 2-hr group and 6 50-min individual sessions) or ST (N = 22; 6 90-min group and 1 20-min individual session), plus 8 weeks of transdermal nicotine patch. RESULTS At the end of behavioral treatment, odds of abstinence among participants receiving DT were 6.46 times greater than among participants receiving ST (66.7% vs. 31.8%), equivalent to a medium- to large-effect size. Odds of abstinence for DT were still 1.73 times greater at 8 weeks, corresponding to a small- to medium-effect size, although neither this difference nor those at 13 and 26 weeks were statistically significant. Furthermore, of those who lapsed to smoking during the first week postquit, DT participants had more than 4 times greater odds of abstinence than ST participants at the end of treatment. Relative to ST, DT participants also reported a larger decrease in experiential avoidance, a hypothesized DT treatment mediator, prior to quit day. The trajectory of negative mood and withdrawal symptoms in DT differed from ST and was largely consistent with hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS Reasons for the decrease in abstinence in DT after treatment discontinuation and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The relationship between cigarette smoking and impulsivity: A review of personality, behavioral, and neurobiological assessment

Impulsivity is a multi-dimensional construct that broadly encompasses impaired self-regulation. Studies comparing substance users and non-users, including cigarette smokers, consistently find that users are more impulsive than non-users. However, identifying the role of impulsivity in cigarette smoking initiation, maintenance, and relapse has been challenging because of variation in how impulsivity is defined and whether it is assessed as (1) a stable personality trait, (2) a behavior (either trait or state), or (3) a neurobiological process. Personality and behavioral assessments are typically weakly correlated or uncorrelated, but both types of impulsivity have been related to brain activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and associated areas. This article provides a narrative review of research pertaining to the relationship between impulsivity and cigarette smoking, including smoking initiation, maintenance, and relapse, with respect to these three methods of impulsivity assessment. This review revealed that impulsivity is associated with all stages of tobacco use. Regarding initiation, research involving adolescents suggests that differences between adult smokers and non-smokers in self-reported impulsivity appear to pre-date smoking initiation, whereas behavioral impulsivity has not been as consistently associated with adolescent smoking. Conversely, chronic exposure to nicotine and acute nicotine deprivation may also increase impulsivity. Regarding maintenance and relapse, urgency, an aspect of impulsivity that refers to the tendency to act impulsively when experiencing negative affect, seems to play a particularly important role. In future research, investigators should define impulsivity precisely and provide a rationale for the type of assessment used. Targeting impulsivity reduction may facilitate successful smoking cessation.

A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial of a Behavioral Exercise Intervention for Smoking Cessation

INTRODUCTION Previous exercise intervention studies for smoking cessation have been challenged by a number of methodological limitations that confound the potential efficacy of aerobic exercise for smoking cessation. METHODS The preliminary efficacy of a behavioral exercise intervention that incorporated features designed to address prior limitations was tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Sixty-one smokers (65.6% female, mean age = 47.3 years, smoked a mean of 19.7 cigarettes/day) were randomized to receive either a 12-week exercise intervention or a 12-week health education contact control. Participants in both conditions received an 8-week telephone-delivered, standard smoking cessation protocol (with the transdermal nicotine patch). Follow-ups were conducted at the end of treatment (EOT), 6- and 12-month timepoints. RESULTS There were no differences between conditions with respect to the number of weekly exercise or health education sessions attended (9.3±2.8 vs. 9.3±3.0, respectively). While not statistically significant, participants in the exercise condition demonstrated higher verified abstinence rates (EOT: 40% vs. 22.6%, odds ratio [OR] = 2.28; 6- and 12-month follow-ups: 26.7% vs. 12.9%, OR = 2.46). Irrespective of treatment condition, higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous exercise were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms during the intervention. CONCLUSIONS The results of this small RCT point toward the benefit of a behavioral exercise intervention designed to address previous methodological limitations for smoking cessation. Given the potential public health impact of the demonstrated efficacy of exercise for smoking cessation, the continued development and optimization of exercise interventions for smokers through larger RCTs merits pursuit.

Motivational Interviewing to Reduce Substance Use in Adolescents with Psychiatric Comorbidity.

Substance use among adolescents with one or more psychiatric disorders is a significant public health concern. In this study, 151 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents, ages 13-17 with comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders, were randomized to a two-session Motivational Interviewing intervention to reduce substance use plus treatment as usual (MI) vs. treatment as usual only (TAU). Results indicated that the MI group had a longer latency to first use of any substance following hospital discharge relative to TAU (36 days versus 11 days). Adolescents who received MI also reported less total use of substances and less use of marijuana during the first 6 months post-discharge, although this effect was not significant across 12 months. Finally, MI was associated with a significant reduction in rule-breaking behaviors at 6-month follow-up. Future directions are discussed, including means of extending effects beyond 6 months and dissemination of the intervention to community-based settings.

The moderating role of experiential avoidance in the relationships between internal distress and smoking behavior during a quit attempt.

Recent smoking cessation studies have shown that decreasing experiential avoidance (EA; i.e., tendency to reduce or avoid internal distress) improves success, but to date none have examined the moderating effect of EA on the role of specific internal distress in smoking cessation. This study examined whether prequit general EA (Acceptance and Action Questionnaire) and smoking-specific EA (Avoidance and Inflexibility Scale) moderated the relations between 4 measures of postquit internal distress (depressive symptoms, negative affect, physical withdrawal symptoms, craving) and smoking. Forty adult smokers participated in a randomized controlled trial of distress tolerance treatment for smokers with a history of early lapse. Multilevel models showed that prequit smoking-specific EA, but not general EA, significantly moderated the relationship between all measures of internal distress, except craving, and smoking over 13 weeks postquit. When examined over 26 weeks, these relations remained unchanged for all, but the moderating effect became trend-level for depressive symptoms. Significant associations between postquit internal distress and smoking were found only in those with high prequit smoking-specific EA. Moreover, prequit smoking-specific EA did not predict postquit levels or changes in internal distress, suggesting that decreasing smoking-specific EA prequit may not reduce internal distress, but may instead reduce smoking risk in response to such distress during a quit attempt. Results mainly supported hypothesized relations, but only for smoking-specific EA. Smoking cessation interventions focusing on EA reduction may especially benefit those vulnerable to greater postquit depressive and withdrawal symptoms, and those who smoke to regulate aversive internal states. (PsycINFO Database Record

Neural reward and punishment sensitivity in cigarette smokers

BACKGROUND Nicotine addiction remains a major public health problem but the neural substrates of addictive behavior remain unknown. One characteristic of smoking behavior is impulsive choice, selecting the immediate reward of smoking despite the potential long-term negative consequences. This suggests that drug users, including cigarette smokers, may be more sensitive to rewards and less sensitive to punishment. METHODS We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to test the hypothesis that smokers are more responsive to reward signals and less responsive to punishment, potentially predisposing them to risky behavior. We conducted two experiments, one using a reward prediction design to elicit a Medial Frontal Negativity (MFN) and one using a reward- and punishment-motivated flanker task to elicit an Error Related Negativity (ERN), ERP components thought to index activity in the cortical projection of the dopaminergic reward system. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The smokers had a greater MFN response to unpredicted rewards, and non-smokers, but not smokers, had a larger ERN on punishment motivated trials indicating that smokers are more reward sensitive and less punishment sensitive than nonsmokers, overestimating the appetitive value and underestimating aversive outcomes of stimuli and actions.

Post-operative smoking status in lung and head and neck cancer patients: association with depressive symptomatology, pain, and fatigue.

An estimated 35–50% of lung and head and neck cancer patients are smoking at diagnosis; most try to quit; however, a substantial proportion resumes smoking. As cancer treatments improve, attention to the effects of continued smoking on quality of life in the survivorship period is increasing. The current study examines if smoking abstinence following surgical treatment is associated with better quality of life.

A Pilot Study of a Distress Tolerance Treatment for Opiate-Dependent Patients Initiating Buprenorphine: Rationale, Methodology, and Outcomes

Buprenorphine, an opioid that is a long-acting partial opiate agonist, is an efficacious treatment for opiate dependence that is growing in popularity. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that many patients will lapse within the first week of treatment and that lapses are often associated with withdrawal-related or emotional distress. Recent research suggests that individuals’ reactions to this distress may represent an important treatment target. In the current study, we describe the development and outcomes from a preliminary pilot evaluation (N = 5) of a novel distress tolerance (DT) treatment for individuals initiating buprenorphine. This treatment incorporates exposure-based and acceptance-based treatment approaches that we have previously applied to the treatment of tobacco dependence. Results from this pilot study establish the feasibility and acceptability of this approach. We are now conducting a randomized controlled trial of this treatment that we hope will yield clinically significant findings and offer clinicians an efficacious behavioral treatment to complement the effects of buprenorphine.

Quality of life after quitting smoking and initiating aerobic exercise

Abstract Quitting smoking and aerobic exercise each improve health. Although smokers may be concerned that quitting smoking will reduce their quality of life (QOL), recent research has shown that cessation is associated with QOL benefits. Elements of smoking cessation interventions, such as exercise, may contribute to changes in QOL. However, it is unknown whether initiating exercise in the context of smoking cessation is associated with greater or different effects on QOL than smoking cessation alone. The current study is a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial (n = 61) of an exercise intervention for smoking cessation. We hypothesized that smoking abstinence and engagement in exercise would have positive, additive effects on QOL at end-of-treatment, 6- and, 12-month follow-ups. Sedentary adult smokers were randomized to the exercise intervention or a health education control (HEC) group. Additionally, all participants received smoking cessation counseling and nicotine patches. Data were analyzed using actual engagement in exercise, rather than group assignment as a proxy for exercise engagement, because some HEC participants also began exercising. Abstinence was positively associated with higher total and physical health QOL at follow-up. Exercise was not associated with total QOL and only marginally associated with physical health QOL, but was positively related to overall sense of well-being. Emphasizing that smoking cessation is associated with higher QOL may help motivate smokers to initiate quit attempts.

Effects of Depression History and Sex on the Efficacy of Sequential Versus Standard Fluoxetine for Smoking Cessation in Elevated Depressive Symptom Smokers

Objective:The potential benefits of antidepressant pharmacotherapy with fluoxetine for smoking cessation among vulnerable subpopulations of depressed smokers have not been well explored. This study examined whether the efficacy of a sequential course of fluoxetine for smoking cessation differed as a function of depression history (none vs. single vs. recurrent episodes) and sex. Methods:Data were from a randomized controlled trial that evaluated the efficacy of sequential fluoxetine treatment (SEQ-FLUOX; 16 wk, starting 8 wk prequit) in comparison with standard fluoxetine treatment (ST-FLUOX; 10 wk, starting 2 wk prequit) and transdermal nicotine patch only (TNP) for 216 smokers with elevated depressive symptoms. Results:Cox regression analyses revealed significant moderating effects of depression history (recurrent vs. single), but not sex, on the efficacy of SEQ-FLUOX versus ST-FLUOX on latency to relapse. Among smokers with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) episodes, those receiving SEQ-FLUOX were slower to relapse, compared with those receiving ST-FLUOX, but not relative to TNP. No such treatment difference was observed in smokers with no MDD history or a single past MDD episode. Furthermore, those with recurrent MDD receiving SEQ-FLUOX reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms over 26 weeks after quitting, compared with those receiving ST-FLUOX, but not relative to TNP. Conclusions:Findings suggest the possible specific benefits of treating elevated depressive symptom smokers with recurrent MDD using fluoxetine in a sequential manner (vs. standard). However, given the small sample size, the reliability of this difference is unknown. Replication with a larger sample of recurrent MDD history is needed.