Insomnia symptoms as a risk factor for cessation failure following smoking cessation treatment

Abstract

Insomnia symptoms are associated with smoking and may interfere with smoking cessation. Specifically, studies have shown that smoking-related sleep problems are associated with long-term smoking relapse, and longer sleep duration is associated with successful smoking cessation. However, it is currently unclear whether pre- or post-quit insomnia symptoms are associated with smoking cessation outcomes. As such, the current study aimed to extend previous findings by using a measure of insomnia symptoms as a predictor of smoking cessation failure by Month 3 following smoking cessation treatment. Additionally, we examined whether post-quit insomnia symptoms predicted cessation outcomes. Results indicated that pre-, but not post-quit insomnia, predicted smoking cessation failure by 3-month post-cessation, after covarying for depressive symptoms, anxiety sensitivity, alcohol use disorder severity, treatment condition, and number of cigarettes per day. These findings add to the literature on insomnia symptoms as a risk factor for difficulties with smoking cessation, and suggest it may be a worthy clinical target for smoking populations who are interested in quitting smoking.

Keywords:

• Insomnia
• sleep disturbances
• smoking
• smoking cessation

Disclosure statement

The funding agency played no role in the study design, analysis of data, preparation of the manuscript or decision to submit the manuscript for preparation. There are no other conflicts of interest to disclose.

Funding information

This research was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH076629-0).