Associations of DHEA(S) with negative and positive affect in people who smoke daily with elevated and low depression symptoms: A pilot laboratory study.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with depression symptoms have a harder time quitting smoking. High negative affect and low positive affect are core depression symptoms and arise following cigarette abstinence. Investigating associations of biological markers with negative and positive affect may provide valuable information about factors relevant to smoking cessation in individuals with elevated depression symptoms. METHODS: Depression symptoms were measured at a baseline session. Participants then completed two counterbalanced experimental sessions (non-abstinent, abstinent) and completed measures of positive and negative affect, and provided saliva samples. Saliva samples were assayed at the Salimetrics' SalivaLab (Carlsbad, CA) using the Salimetrics Salivary Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Assay Kit (Cat. No. 1-1202) and Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) Assay Kit (Cat. No. 1-1252). RESULTS: There were no main or interactive associations of DHEA with negative affect. However, there were significant DHEAS × experimental session and DHEAS × experimental session × depression symptom level interactions with negative affect. In the high depression symptom group, DHEAS positively associated with negative affect during the non-abstinent experimental session, but DHEAS negatively associated with negative affect during the abstinent experimental session. There were no associations of DHEA or DHEAS with positive affect. CONCLUSION: This study found that DHEAS negatively associated with negative affect during cigarette abstinence in individuals with elevated depression symptoms. This is important as high negative affect during cigarette abstinence may result in a return to smoking.

Emotion regulation expectancies and smoking cessation factors: A daily diary study of California adults who smoke cigarettes during a practice quit attempt.

SIGNIFICANCE: Cross-sectional studies have shown that greater cigarette smoking-related emotion regulation expectancies were associated with retrospectively reported withdrawal during prior quit attempts and greater barriers to cessation. Few studies have investigated the relationship of within-person daily emotion regulation expectancies to factors related to initiating and maintaining a brief quit attempt. METHODS: People living in California who smoked cigarettes daily (n = 220, 50 % female; 48.5 % white, 14.6 % Hispanic, 16.7 % Black or African American, 9.6 % Asian, 7.6 % Multi-race, 3.0 % other race; mean age=43.71 years old) completed a practice quit attempt and 28-days of daily diary surveys. In the morning, participants reported non-smoking and smoking emotion regulation expectancies based on the Affective Processing Questionnaire, daily abstinence plan, abstinence self-efficacy, and cigarettes smoked. Successful abstinence plans were calculated as days with an abstinence plan and no cigarettes smoked. Multilevel models investigated whether within-person emotion regulation expectancies were associated with abstinence plan, self-efficacy, and successful abstinence plan. RESULTS: Greater within-person non-smoking emotion regulation expectancies were associated with increased odds of having an abstinence plan, higher self-efficacy, and a successful abstinence plan on a given day (ps < .05). Greater within-person smoking emotion regulation expectancies were associated with lower odds of having an abstinence plan and lower self-efficacy (ps < .001) but did not significantly associate with a successful abstinence plan. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that within-person levels of expectations in emotion regulation abilities may contribute to factors relevant to initiating and achieving daily abstinence during a practice attempt.

Affect and subjective cognitive functioning by depression symptom levels during naturalistic cigarette smoking in premenopausal females who smoke daily.

Objective: High negative affect, low positive affect, and low cognitive functioning are depression-related states that may be particularly relevant to females who smoke cigarettes and may be more prominent following overnight tobacco abstinence. This study aimed to assess relations between depression symptom levels and negative affect, positive affect, and subjective cognitive functioning in premenopausal females who smoke. Methods: Premenopausal females who smoke daily with low (n = 66) or elevated (n = 33) baseline depression symptoms completed subjective ratings of negative affect, positive affect, and cognitive functioning pre-first cigarette (i.e., after overnight tobacco abstinence) and at random prompts throughout the day via ecological momentary assessment (EMA) for 35 days. Results: Participants with elevated depression symptoms reported overall higher negative affect (p = .01). Positive affect was significantly lower prior to the first cigarette of the day (p < .001), but did not significantly differ between depression symptom groups. Subjective cognitive functioning was significantly lower pre-first cigarette of the day (p < .001). There was a significant Depression Symptom × Prompt Type interaction for subjective cognitive functioning (p = .01). Subjective cognitive functioning did not significantly differ by depression symptom group pre-first cigarette of the day but was significantly different at random prompts throughout the day. Conclusions: As participants smoked as usual, findings identify naturalistic factors which may influence smoking behavior among premenopausal females who smoke with elevated depression symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Association of depression symptom level with smoking urges, cigarette withdrawal, and smoking reinstatement: A preliminary laboratory study.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking urges, withdrawal, and smoking reinstatement may be especially relevant to people with elevated depression symptoms who smoke. This laboratory study aimed to assess relations between depression symptom level and smoking urges for reward and relief, cigarette withdrawal, and smoking reinstatement in people who smoke cigarettes daily during acute abstinence and while smoking as usual. METHODS: Participants with low (n = 51) or elevated (n = 29) baseline depression symptoms underwent two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (i.e., abstinent, non-abstinent). At each session, they completed subjective measures of smoking urges for reward and relief, and withdrawal. They also completed a laboratory smoking reinstatement task measuring whether they would delay smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked. RESULTS: The elevated depression symptom group reported significantly higher withdrawal (p = .01) and smoked more cigarettes than the low depression symptoms group during the smoking reinstatement task self-administration period at the abstinent session (p = .04). Smoking urges for reward and relief were not significantly different by depression symptom group. There were no significant interactions of depression and abstinence with any outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: As outcomes were measured at both an abstinent and non-abstinent session, findings identify factors for people with elevated depression symptoms who smoke which may drive smoking behavior and impede smoking cessation efforts. This study provides evidence that people with elevated depression symptoms who smoke may need additional/more pharmacological or behavioral smoking cessation aids targeted at reducing withdrawal and number of cigarettes smoked.

Effects of cigarette abstinence on negative and positive affect by depression symptom levels: A lab study.

BACKGROUND: High negative affect and low positive affect are key depression-related states that may be greater following acute tobacco abstinence. This study aimed to test associations between depression symptom levels and acute tobacco abstinence with negative affect and positive affect. METHODS: Following a baseline session, participants attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions (non-abstinent, abstinent) and completed measures of positive and negative affect at rest (i.e., when not completing a task) and during a film clip task. RESULTS: Individuals with elevated depression symptoms had higher negative affect and lower positive affect at rest and during the film clip task compared to individuals with low depression symptoms. There was no interaction of depression symptom levels and abstinence on negative and positive affect at rest. There was an interaction of depression symptom level and abstinence on negative and positive affect during the film clip task. Individuals with elevated depression showed significant differences in positive and negative affect between the abstinent and non-abstinent session, but no significant abstinence effects were noted in individuals with low depression symptoms. LIMITATIONS: The study included a non-treatment seeking sample and experimentally induced acute cigarette abstinence. We excluded for the use of smoking cessation medications that are also used to treat depression, classified depression levels using dichotomized CES-D scores, and used self-report measures of affect. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest individuals with elevated depression symptoms who smoke experience elevated negative affect and lower positive affect and cigarette abstinence may uniquely alter affective reactivity in individuals with elevated depression symptoms.