| Comorbidity of alcoholism and major depression may exert a detrimental effect on the likelihood of smoking cessation. This study evaluated whether smoking cessation is enhanced by treatment of depression in recovering alcoholics with major depression history. Subjects were 29 (15 female, 14 male) adult, recovering alcoholics with an average of 6.8 years of continuous alcohol sobriety. They were randomly assigned to a 12-week program of: (1) Brand Fading Alone (BF) (n = 16), or (2) Brand Fading + Cognitive-Behavioral Depression Therapy (CBT) (n = 13). The major assessments occurred at baseline, post-treatment (1-week post-quit), and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups. The dependent variables were verified point-prevalence smoking abstinence rates and measures of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, including depression. At both the post-treatment and 1-month follow-up periods, 69.2% (9 of 13) of subjects in the CBT condition were abstinent from smoking compared with 31.3% (5 of 16) of those in the BF group, ;One-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), using baseline scores as covariates, showed that post-treatment ratings on the Nicotine Withdrawal Questionnaire-Mood differed significantly between groups, with lower mean scores for participants in the CBT condition, F (1, 24) = 4.408, p =.038. No significant group differences emerged on the Profile of Mood States, measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression), or on measures of cognitive processes, at post-treatment or 1-month follow-up. Initial treatment differences in smoking outcome were not apparently mediated by changes in depression or cognitive processes. It is concluded that adjunctive depression therapy is useful in facilitating short-term smoking cessation, yet, more effective maintenance interventions are needed to bolster long-term abstinence rates. |
