Bupropion for smoking cessation : predictors of successful outcome.
OBJECTIVE
To identify predictors of smoking abstinence at the end of medication use that could assist in the optimal use of a sustained-release (SR) form of bupropion for treating cigarette smokers.


METHODS
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response trial.


METHODS
Multicenter (three sites) study conducted in the United States.


METHODS
Six hundred fifteen healthy men and women (> or = 18 years of age) who were smoking > or = 15 cigarettes per day and who were motivated to stop smoking.


METHODS
Random assignment of patients to placebo or SR bupropion treatment, 100, 150, or 300 mg/d, for 7 weeks (total duration of study was 52 weeks: 7 weeks of treatment and 45 weeks of follow-up).


RESULTS
Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of abstinence at the end of the medication phase. Univariate predictors included the following: bupropion dose (p < 0.001); older age (p = 0.024); lower number of cigarettes smoked per day (cpd) (p < 0.001); lower Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire score (p = 0.011); longest time previously abstinent that was < 24 h or > 4 weeks (p < 0.001); absence of other smokers in the household (p = 0.021); greater number of previous stop attempts (p = 0.019); and study site (p = 0.004). Multivariate predictors of abstinence at the end of the medication phase were the following: higher bupropion dose (p < 0.001); lower number of cpd (p < 0.001); longest time previously abstinent from smoking (p = 0.002); male gender (p = 0.014); and study site (p = 0.021).


CONCLUSIONS
Bupropion SR therapy was effective in treating cigarette smokers independently of all other characteristics studied. Lower smoking rate, brief periods (ie, < 24 h) or long periods (ie, > 4 weeks) of abstinence with previous attempts to stop smoking, and male gender were predictive of better outcomes, independent of the dose of bupropion that was used.
Dale
L C
LC
Nicotine Research Center, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. dale.lowell@mayo.edu
Glover
E D
ED
Sachs
D P
DP
Schroeder
D R
DR
Offord
K P
KP
Croghan
I T
IT
Hurt
R D
RD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016642:Bupropion / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012074:Remission Induction; D016540:Smoking Cessation
D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D016642:Bupropion