Bupropion SR and counseling for smoking cessation in actual practice: predictors of outcome

To date, only one study has been published on individual characteristics associated with outcome following standard treatment with bupropion SR for smoking cessation. To investigate treatment outcome beyond the 6-week end-of-treatment point, the present study examined characteristics associated with more clinically relevant smoking endpoints following treatment with bupropion SR in a large health care system. A total of 1,524 smokers (649 men and 875 women) of average age 45.1 years were randomized to receive one of four combinations of bupropion SR (150 or 300 mg) and behavioral counseling (tailored mailings or proactive telephone counseling) and assessed for point-prevalent smoking status at 3 and 12 months. Multiple logistic regression analyses of potential risk factors for 12-month point-prevalent smoking and for persistent smoking (point-prevalent smoking at both follow-ups) following treatment were conducted for men and women combined and separately. Risk factors for smoking at both endpoints in the combined sample included treatment with tailored mailings, female gender, younger age, higher levels of tobacco dependence, shorter previous quit attempts, previous use of nicotine replacement therapy, and report of current depressive symptoms or lifetime depression. Risk factors for smoking following treatment identified in women only included treatment with the lower dose of bupropion SR, younger age, and higher perceived stress, whereas those that were unique to men included the presence of lifetime depression. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the need for more effective treatments in general, and the role of individual differences in the likelihood of returning to smoking following treatment for quitting.