Gender Differences in Quit Rates in a Tobacco Cessation Program: In Search of Demographic, Socioeconomic, Health, or...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Behavioral Science
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Gender disparities in smoking cessation are well-documented, with women consistently exhibiting lower quit rates than men.
• Despite comprehensive interventions, this gap persists, prompting investigation into underlying mechanisms.
• Previous research suggests potential contributing factors like social support, disease burden, and socioeconomic status, but empirical evidence remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mechanisms behind gender differences in smoking cessation program outcomes.
• To determine if demographic, socioeconomic, health, or behavioral factors mediate the observed disparities in quit rates between genders.
• To identify potential targets for tailored cessation strategies.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving participants in three distinct smoking cessation interventions: in-person (CEASE), self-help, and online/hybrid.
• Primary outcome: smoking abstinence assessed at three months post-intervention.
• Secondary analyses: mediation analysis to explore the role of demographic, socioeconomic, health, and tobacco use factors in the gender-quit rate association.

Main Results:

• Women demonstrated significantly lower smoking quit rates compared to men (p < 0.01).
• This gender disparity in cessation success persisted even after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, health, and addiction-related factors.
• Contrary to hypotheses, higher reported social support and increased prevalence of chronic cardiometabolic conditions in women did not account for their lower quit rates.

Conclusions:

• The observed gender gap in smoking cessation success is robust and not explained by the investigated demographic, socioeconomic, or health variables.
• Despite reporting higher social support, women's lower quit rates highlight the need for further research.
• Future research should explore unmeasured psychological, biological, and structural factors to develop more effective, gender-specific tobacco cessation strategies.