Open AccessWeight Change After Smoking Cessation Using Variable Doses of Transdermal Nicotine Replacement
Author(s) -
Dale Lowell C.,
Schroeder Darrell R.,
Wolter Troy D.,
Croghan Ivana T.,
Hurt Richard D.,
Offord Kenneth P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of general internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.746
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 1525-1497
pISSN - 0884-8734
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1998.00002.x
Subject(s) - medicine , smoking cessation , cotinine , nicotine patch , weight change , nicotine replacement therapy , weight gain , nicotine , placebo , transdermal , randomized controlled trial , anesthesia , nicotine withdrawal , weight loss , physical therapy , body weight , obesity , pharmacology , pathology , alternative medicine
OBJECTIVE: Examine weight change in subjects receiving variable doses of transdermal nicotine replacement for smoking cessation. DESIGN: Randomized, double‐blind clinical trial. SETTING: One‐week inpatient treatment with outpatient follow‐up through 1 year. INTERVENTION: This report examines weight change after smoking cessation for 70 subjects randomized to placebo or to 11, 22, or 44 mg/d doses of transdermal nicotine. The study included 1 week of intensive inpatient treatment for nicotine dependence with active patch therapy continuing for another 7 weeks. Counseling sessions were provided weekly for the 8 weeks of patch therapy and with long‐term follow‐up visits at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Forty‐two subjects were confirmed biochemically (i.e., by expired carbon monoxide) to be nonsmokers at all weekly visits during patch therapy. Their 8‐week weight change from baseline was 3.0 ± 2.0 kg. For these subjects, 8‐week weight change was found to be negatively correlated with percentage of cotinine replacement ( r = −.38, p = .012) and positively correlated with baseline weight ( r = .48, p = .001), and age ( r = .35, p = .025). Men had higher ( p = .003) 8‐week weight gain (4.0 ± 1.8 kg) than women (2.1 ± 1.7 kg). Of the 21 subjects who abstained continuously for the entire year, 20 had their weight measured at 1‐year follow‐up. Among these 20 subjects, 1‐year weight change was not found to be associated with gender, baseline weight, baseline smoking rate, total dose of transdermal nicotine, or average percentage of cotinine replacement during the 8 weeks of patch therapy. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that higher replacement levels of nicotine may delay postcessation weight gain. This effect is consistent for both men and women. We could not identify any factors that predict weight change with long‐term abstinence from smoking. KEY WORDS: weight; smoking cessation; nicotine patch.