Anxiety sensitivity as a mediator of the association between asthma and smoking

Despite its negative effects, smoking is more common among individuals with asthma compared to those without. Anxiety sensitivity (fear of arousal-related sensations) is associated with both smoking and asthma; however, no research, to date, has examined the interplay between these three factors. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity in the association between asthma diagnosis and smoking status.

The current study was a secondary analysis of data from three existing datasets of non-smokers and smokers with and without asthma (n = 433; 56.3% female, M(age) = 34.01 years, SD = 13.9). Participants provided information on their asthma diagnosis status and smoking status and completed self-report measures.

As hypothesized, after controlling for gender, race and age, there was a significant indirect effect of asthma diagnosis on smoking status through anxiety sensitivity (95% CI = 0.07-0.48).

These results indicate that the association between asthma diagnosis and smoking status appears to be driven, in part, by anxiety sensitivity and suggest that anxiety sensitivity may serve as an important target for prevention and intervention efforts for smokers with asthma.