title: Predictors of success at six-month follow-up at a public smoking cessation clinic in South Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our objective was to identify the factors related to returning to smoking by analyzing data obtained from a smoking cessation clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data from 2,089 subjects (age 44.0 ± 12.9 years) who started a smoking cessation program between 16 July 2007 and 31 December 2008 in a community health center in the city of Ulsan. We analyzed demographic information and clinical variables using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and calculated the hazard ratio for returning to smoking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean abstinence time differed according to the following factors: sex, past attempts to quit, employment status, type of health insurance, CO levels, results from Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence (FTND), number of cigarettes smoked daily, use of a nicotine replacement, and number of contacts in the program. Using multivariate analysis, we identified negative relationships between treatment intensity and hazard ratio for the following: visits ≤4 (Exp(B) = 3.752, P < 0.001, reference: 5 visits ≤), telephone contacts ≤5 (Exp(B) = 10.528, P < 0.001, reference: 6 calls ≤) and SMS ≤ 20 (Exp(B) = 3.821, P < 0.001 in 0-10 group; Exp(B) = 1.407, P = 0.003 for the 11-20 group; reference: 21 messages ≤).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Type of insurance, baseline CO, FTND level, and intensity of smoking cessation intervention positively affects outcomes in a smoking cessation clinic. A cost-effectiveness study on the intensity of interventions in smoking cessation clinics is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Bhang
authors.forename: Sam-Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Joon-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Kunwoo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hano
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hye-Kyeong
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: South Korea; public health; smoking; smoking cessation predictor; tobacco