Risk of smoking cessation treatment dropout: a cohort to help (re)think care.
Janaina Pereira da Silva, Adriana Ignácio de Pádua, Ruan Víctor Dos Santos Silva and 5 others
PMID 39230096WHAT IT FOUND
Among smokers who started cessation treatment, 27.5% dropped out before the intensive phase ended.
Each year older at treatment start was associated with an average 2% lower dropout risk.
Key findings
01Of 396 smokers who started treatment, 109 (27.5%) abandoned before completing the intensive phase.
02Each year older at treatment start was associated with an average 2% lower risk of abandonment; sex, nicotine dependence, number of cigarettes smoked, and living with a smoker were not significant.
03The largest single dropout point was after the first structured session, with 37 individuals (9.3%) abandoning there.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Secondary records only, with no direct input from participants, so reasons for dropout were not measured. The study covered one continuously active treatment team at one clinic, so results may not apply to other teams or settings. Data from one transferred team could not be listed because the professional assignment was removed from the system, and 19 people with missing records were excluded. The sample had few people with very low or low nicotine dependence, so comparisons across dependence levels were limited. Medication shortages were reported by the team, but the periods were not specified, so their possible effect on dropout could not be analysed.
Declared interests
Funded by CNPq and CAPES; no conflicts of interest are reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 2% lower risk per year as evidence that older patients are more likely to quit smoking. The outcome was treatment abandonment, not quitting success, and this was an observational study of medical records.