Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of employees participating in a smoking cessation program
| Characteristics | All subjects (n = 654) | Long-term quitters (n = 229) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | Subjects without increase of body weight >5 % (n = 115) | Subjects with Increase of body weight >5 % (n = 114) | p-value | |
| Age, years a | 42.4 (±9.7) | 43.4 (±9.7) | 44.2 (±9.31) | 0.53 |
| Gender b | 0.64 | |||
| Male | 369 (56) | 61 (53) | 65 (57) | |
| female | 285(44) | 54 (47) | 49(43) | |
| Height, cm c | 173 (167–180) | 173 (168–180) | 173 (167–180) | 0.76 |
| Weight, kg c | 75.6 (64–84) | 74.8 (64–83) | 74.6 (65–84) | 0.45 |
| BMI a | 25.1(±4.00) | 25.1 (±4.23) | 25.4 (±4.44) | 0.52 |
| Civil status b | 0.47 | |||
| single | 218 (33) | 36 (31) | 35 (31) | |
| married | 330 (51) | 57 (50) | 61 (53) | |
| divorced | 95 (14) | 19 (16) | 18(16) | |
| widowed | 11 (2) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) | |
| Education b | 0.56 | |||
| University | 141 (22) | 35 (31) | 28 (25) | |
| Apprenticeship | 466 (72) | 73 (64) | 77 (68) | |
| Basic education | 41 (6) | 6 (5) | 8 (7) | |
| Comorbidities b | ||||
| Arterial hypertension | 37 (6) | 9 (8) | 13 (7) | 1.00 |
| Coronary heart disease | 28 (4) | 11 (10) | 2 (2) | 0.02 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 16 (2) | 12 (11) | 13 (11) | 1.00 |
| Malignancy | 27 (4) | 5 (4) | 4 (4) | 1.00 |
| Epilepsy | 15 (2) | 5 (4) | 2 (2) | 0.45 |
| Psychiatric disorder | 91 (14) | 24 (21) | 13 (11) | 0.08 |
| Antidepressant medication | 112 (17) | 23 (20) | 16 (14) | 0.31 |
| Satisfaction with Life Scale (Qol), points c | 26 (24–30) | 27 (25–31) | 26 (23–30) | 0.82 |
| Respiratory symptoms b | ||||
| Cough | 253 (39) | 34 (30) | 38 (34) | 0.61 |
| Sputum | 176 (27) | 25 (22) | 26 (23) | 0.97 |
| Wheezing | 124 (19) | 26 (23) | 17 (15) | 0.19 |
| Breathlessness at rest | 44 (7) | 12 (10) | 10 (9) | 0.84 |
| Breathlessness on exertion | 288 (44) | 47 (41) | 45 (39) | 0.94 |
| Smoking-related history | ||||
| Age at starting smoking, years a | 17 (±3.7) | 17 (±3.8) | 17 (±3.5) | 1.00 |
| Prior attempts to quit a | 3.0 (±3.5) | 2.9 (±3.3) | 3.1 (±3.8) | 0.78 |
| Duration longest nicotine abstinence, months a | 20 (±51) | 21 (±45) | 20 (±54) | 0.69 |
| Years, smoked a | 22 (±8.5) | 21 (±10.3) | 22 (±8.5) | 0.85 |
| Number of cigarettes/day b | 0.29 | |||
| 0-10 | 82 (13) | 22 (19) | 12 (11) | |
| 11-20 | 329 (50) | 59 (51) | 67 (59) | |
| 21-30 | 184 (28) | 28 (24) | 27 (24) | |
| >30 | 58 (9) | 6 (5) | 8 (7) | |
| FTND, points a | 4.5 (±2.40) | 3.7 (±2.40) | 4.5 (±2.30) | 0.02 |
| Intensity of craving, (VAS 0–100) a | 57 (±32) | 58 (±32) | 55 (±21) | 0.09 |
| Exhaled CO, ppm a | 22.6 (±14.7) | 20.2 (±15.1) | 22.0 (±13.9) | 0.38 |
| Pharmacological support | 0.91 | |||
| NRT | ||||
| Mono | 82 (13) | 12 (10) | 11 (10) | |
| Combined | 124 (19) | 24 (22) | 21 (19) | |
| Mono + Bupropion | 92 (14) | 12 (10) | 13 (12) | |
| Combined + Bupropion | 265 (42) | 52 (45) | 57 (50) | |
| Bupropion | 42 (6) | 5 (4) | 5 (4) | |
| Counselling only | 47 (6) | 10 (9) | 6 (5) | |
Data are illustrated for all subjects and permanent abstainers with and without significant change in body weight gain (def. Increase of body weight > 5 % as compared to baseline within 2-years)
a Values are means ± SD, b absolute numbers (%) or c medians with interquartile ranges, BMI = Body mass index; FTND = Fagerstroem test for nicotine dependence, exhaled CO = exhaled carbon monoxide; NRT = Nicotine replacement therapy