History of Single Episode and Recurrent Major Depressive Disorder Among Smokers in Cessation Treatment

OBJECTIVES: Research and theory provide initial support for the potential utility in distinguishing between recurrent and single episode MDD smokers for cessation treatment. However, no study to date has examined differences in clinical presentation at the outset of treatment among these two groups and whether these clinical profiles are indicative of early cessation failure (smoking on quit day). METHODS: In a secondary analysis of a sample of 179 smokers entering cessation treatment, we examined baseline differences in dysfunctional attitudes, maladaptive coping, self-efficacy to manage negative affect, depressive symptoms, depressed mood, and experienced pleasure from life events between smokers with a history of recurrent major depression (MDD-R; 54.7%) and single episode major depression (MDD-S). RESULTS: Results showed that MDD-R smokers reported lower self-efficacy to cope with negative affect, greater depressive symptoms, and greater depressed mood than MDD-S smokers, although no differences were found on dysfunctional attitudes, avoidance coping, and level of experienced pleasure from daily life events. A greater number of MDD-R compared to MDD-S smokers were not abstinent on their quit day, however a history of recurrent MDD did not increase risk for early cessation failure. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that although depressed mood, negative affect-regulation ability, and depression severity distinguish recurrent and single episode MDD smokers at the start of cessation treatment, these differences do not necessarily portend greater risk for cessation failure in the early stages of treatment.