Summary of findings for the main comparison. Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions for smoking cessation.
| Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions for smoking cessation | ||||||
| Patient or population: People who smoke Settings: Community and healthcare settings Intervention: Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions, compared to brief advice or usual care | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of Participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| Control | Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions | |||||
|
Cessation at longest follow‐up (all but Lung Health Study) Follow‐up: 6 months+ |
86 per 10001 | 157 per 1000 (144 to 170) | RR 1.83 (1.68 to 1.98) | 19488 (52 studies) | ⊕⊕⊕⊕ high2 | |
| Cessation at longest follow‐up (Lung Health Study only) Follow‐up: mean 12 months | 90 per 1000 | 350 per 1000 (302 to 406) | RR 3.88 (3.35 to 4.5) | 5887 (1 study) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ moderate3 | Substantially larger treatment effect than seen in other studies. Particularly intensive intervention, hence not included in main analysis. |
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: Confidence interval; RR: Risk ratio | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate. | ||||||
1 Baseline risk calculated as mean control group risk for both comparisons 2 Some evidence of asymmetry in a funnel plot; excess of small trials detecting larger effects. However, in a sensitivity analysis, removing smaller studies did not markedly decrease the pooled estimate. 3 Downgraded due to indirectness. As this study had a particularly intensive intervention, the results may not be generalisable to real world treatment programmes.