Tobacco use screening and treatment by outpatient psychiatrists before and after release of the American Psychiatric Association treatment guidelines for nicotine dependence.
OBJECTIVE
We examined tobacco use screening and treatment by US psychiatrists before and after release of the 1996 American Psychiatric Association (APA) nicotine dependence treatment guidelines.


METHODS
We used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to identify rates of tobacco screening and treatment by psychiatrists before the release of the guidelines (1993-1996) and during 2 postguidelines periods: 2001-2005 and 2006-2010. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare preguidelines and postguidelines rates.


RESULTS
Psychiatrists screened for tobacco use during 77% of visits from 1993 to 1996, 69% of visits from 2001 to 2005 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.64, 0.75), and 60% of visits from 2006 to 2010 (OR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.43, 0.50). Psychiatrists provided cessation counseling to 12% of smokers from 1993 to 1996, 11% from 2001 to 2005 (OR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.74, 1.26), and 23% from 2006 to 2010 (OR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.74, 2.86). Psychiatrists prescribed nicotine replacement therapy to fewer than 1% of smokers during all 3 time periods.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychiatrists are screening for tobacco use at declining rates, and the proportion of smokers provided with treatment remains low.
Erin Rogers and Scott Sherman are with the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System and the Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY.
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D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000266:history; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States