title: Relations between pain-related anxiety, tobacco dependence, and barriers to quitting among a community-based sample of daily smokers.
abstract: There is increasing recognition that complex and potentially bidirectional relations between pain and smoking may be relevant to the maintenance of tobacco addiction. Pain-related anxiety has been identified as a mechanism in the onset and progression of painful disorders, and initial evidence indicates that pain-related anxiety may be associated with essential features of tobacco dependence among smokers with chronic pain. However, there has not been an empirical study of pain-related anxiety in relation to tobacco dependence and self-reported barriers to quitting among a community-based sample of daily smokers. The current sample was comprised of 122 daily smokers who were recruited from the local community to participate in a larger study that included an initial assessment of pain, smoking history, and pain-related anxiety. Approximately 17% of our sample endorsed moderate or severe past-month pain, nearly half met criteria for current anxiety or mood disorder, and about 30% met criteria for a current substance use disorder, exclusive of tobacco dependence. Results indicated that pain-related anxiety was uniquely and positively associated with both tobacco dependence severity scores and self-reported barriers to quitting. These findings lend support to the notion that pain-related anxiety may contribute to the maintenance of tobacco addiction among smokers who experience varying levels of pain severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, United States. Electronic address: jwditre@syr.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ditre
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, Women's Health Sciences Division, VA Boston Healthcare System, United States; Boston University School of Medicine, United States.
authors.forename: Kirsten J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Langdon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, United States.
authors.forename: Jesse D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kosiba
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, United States.
authors.forename: Emily L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Zale
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Houston, United States.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zvolensky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D057566:Self Report; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Cessation; Pain; Pain-related anxiety; Smoking; Tobacco