title: Depressive symptoms and smoking in middle-aged and older women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Smoking research and intervention efforts have neglected older women. Depressive symptoms, which are common in middle-aged and older women, are related to the maintenance of adult smoking.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study investigated the relation of a composite measure of current depressive symptoms, derived from a short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and history of depressive symptoms, derived from two items from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, to smoking outcomes in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (N = 90,627). Participants were postmenopausal with an average age of 63.6 years at baseline. Participants were recruited from urban, suburban, and rural areas surrounding 40 clinical centers in the United States. Analyses controlled for age, educational level, and ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In multinomial logistic regression analyses, depressive symptoms were related cross-sectionally to current light (odds ratio [OR] = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.14-1.23) and heavier (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.23-1.32) smoking at baseline compared with nonsmokers. In prospective multiple logistic regression analyses, baseline depressive symptoms were negatively predictive of smoking cessation at a 1-year follow-up (OR = .85, 95% CI = 0.77-0.93) and at participants' final assessments in the study (OR = .92, 95% CI = 0.85-0.98). Light smokers had more than 2 times higher odds of smoking cessation than did heavier smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings demonstrate a consistent link between depressive symptoms and negative smoking-related behaviors among middle-aged and older women at both light and heavier smoking levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712, USA. c.holahan@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Carole K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Holahan
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Holahan
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.forename: Rashelle B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: C Nathan
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Marti
authors.forename: Judith K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Ockene
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology