Impact of baseline weight on smoking cessation and weight gain in quitlines.
BACKGROUND
The use and effectiveness of tobacco quitlines by weight is still unknown.


OBJECTIVE
This study aims to determine if baseline weight is associated with treatment engagement, cessation, or weight gain following quitline treatment.


METHODS
Quitline participants (n = 595) were surveyed at baseline, 3 and 6 months.


RESULTS
Baseline weight was not associated with treatment engagement. In unadjusted analyses, overweight smokers reported higher quit rates and were more likely to gain weight after quitting than obese or normal weight smokers. At 3 months, 40 % of overweight vs. 25 % of normal weight or obese smokers quit smoking (p = 0.01); 42 % of overweight, 32 % of normal weight, and 33 % of obese quitters gained weight (p = 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, weight was not significantly related to cessation (approaching significance at 6 months, p = 0.06) or weight gain.


CONCLUSIONS
In the first quitline study of this kind, we found no consistent patterns of association between baseline weight and treatment engagement, cessation, or weight gain.
Alere Wellbeing, 999 Third Avenue, Ste 2100, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA, Terry.bush@alere.com.
Terry M
TM
Bush
Michele D
MD
Levine
Brooke
B
Magnusson
Yu
Y
Cheng
Xiaotian
X
Chen
Lisa
L
Mahoney
Lyndsay
L
Miles
Susan M
SM
Zbikowski
D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D012944:Social Support; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*