TY - JOUR
T1 - Female smokers have the highest alcohol craving in a residential alcoholism treatment cohort
AU - Hitschfeld, Mario J.
AU - Schneekloth, Terry D.
AU - Ebbert, Jon O.
AU - Hall-Flavin, Daniel K.
AU - Karpyak, Victor M.
AU - Abulseoud, Osama A.
AU - Patten, Christi A.
AU - Geske, Jennifer R.
AU - Frye, Mark A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
PY - 2015/5/1
Y1 - 2015/5/1
N2 - Background: Cigarette smoking among female and male alcoholics has not been extensively studied as a factor related to intensity of alcohol craving during residential treatment and corresponding sobriety length. Methods: This retrospective cohort study assessed self-reported sobriety outcomes in patients with alcohol dependence at 3-month intervals over 12 months after completion of a 30-day residential treatment program. Demographic and clinical variables were collected including smoking status, alcohol craving utilizing the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), and alcohol relapse. Statistical analyses included Chi-square, ANOVA, Tukey's test, Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards models as appropriate. Results: Of the 761 alcohol-dependent study subjects, 355 (47%) were current smokers. Alcohol craving intensity was higher in smoking females compared to nonsmoking females (p= 0.0096), smoking males (p<. 0.0001), and nonsmoking males (p<. 0.0001). Smoking status-by-sex interaction was not associated with post-treatment relapse. After controlling for other variables, higher PACS scores at admission were associated with higher probability of relapse (p= 0.0003). Conclusions: In this study, female alcoholic smokers experienced the highest level of alcohol craving in an alcohol treatment setting. Interestingly, this did not translate into higher rates of post-treatment relapse. Further research is warranted to explore the neurobiological basis for sex differences in this highly prevalent comorbidity.
AB - Background: Cigarette smoking among female and male alcoholics has not been extensively studied as a factor related to intensity of alcohol craving during residential treatment and corresponding sobriety length. Methods: This retrospective cohort study assessed self-reported sobriety outcomes in patients with alcohol dependence at 3-month intervals over 12 months after completion of a 30-day residential treatment program. Demographic and clinical variables were collected including smoking status, alcohol craving utilizing the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), and alcohol relapse. Statistical analyses included Chi-square, ANOVA, Tukey's test, Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards models as appropriate. Results: Of the 761 alcohol-dependent study subjects, 355 (47%) were current smokers. Alcohol craving intensity was higher in smoking females compared to nonsmoking females (p= 0.0096), smoking males (p<. 0.0001), and nonsmoking males (p<. 0.0001). Smoking status-by-sex interaction was not associated with post-treatment relapse. After controlling for other variables, higher PACS scores at admission were associated with higher probability of relapse (p= 0.0003). Conclusions: In this study, female alcoholic smokers experienced the highest level of alcohol craving in an alcohol treatment setting. Interestingly, this did not translate into higher rates of post-treatment relapse. Further research is warranted to explore the neurobiological basis for sex differences in this highly prevalent comorbidity.
KW - Alcohol abstinence
KW - Alcoholism
KW - Craving
KW - Recurrence
KW - Residential treatment
KW - Tobacco use disorder
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.02.016
DO - 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.02.016
M3 - Article
C2 - 25746235
AN - SCOPUS:84926421521
SN - 0376-8716
VL - 150
SP - 179
EP - 182
JO - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
JF - Drug and Alcohol Dependence
ER -