Nicotine Metabolite Ratio in People with HIV Who Smoke Cigarettes Receiving Pharmacologic and Behavioral Cessation...

People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PWH) smoke cigarettes at triple the rate of the general population in the United States. Efforts to increase quit rates in this group have met with limited success. The nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) has shown promise as a phenotypic marker that may be useful in selecting the most appropriate cessation treatments for people who smoke cigarettes. We completed a randomized controlled trial of individual intensive counseling and/or varenicline treatment for PWH in the Baltimore area who smoke cigarettes, and we measured serum 3' hydroxycotinine and cotinine at baseline and calculated the ratio of these two values, i.e., the NMR, for each participant. Herein, we present summary statistics and measures of association, or lack thereof, of NMR values with a variety of behavioral parameters and clinical outcomes related to tobacco use and tobacco treatment. The NMR was calculated for 155 PWH who were currently using tobacco cigarettes. The mean age was 52.9 years, 62.3% male, 91.0% Black, and they smoked a mean of 10.6 cigarettes/day. The mean NMR was 0.43, similar to that reported from other PWH cohorts. We did not find any significant correlation between NMR and cigarettes/day, nicotine dependence, temptation to smoke, or nicotine withdrawal symptoms. We did not find that lower NMR was predictive of successful cessation, nor was it associated with varenicline intolerance in those who received varenicline. Prevention Relevance: People with HIV suffer disproportionately from lung, head and neck, and other tobacco-related cancers as a consequence of high smoking rates. There is an urgent need to mitigate this harm, and the use of the NMR to personalize tobacco treatment is an area of active interest.