SynthesisBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2014
Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT04088942 (A Randomized Open-label, Superiority, Multicenter, Two-arm Intervention Study of the Effect of "High-intensity" vs. 'Low-intensity' Smoking Cessation Intervention in Active Smokers With COPD), which is not on this map. Cited by 482 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized Open-label, Superiority, Multicenter, Two-arm Intervention Study of the Effect of "High-intensity" vs. 'Low-intensity' Smoking Cessation Intervention in Active Smokers With COPD
Who cites it
482 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Assessing the causal effects of environmental tobacco smoke exposure: a meta-analytic Mendelian randomization study.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Pooled it
- Association between life satisfaction and health behaviours among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Interventions to change vaping harm perceptions and associations between harm perceptions and vaping and smoking behaviours: A systematic review.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Implementation strategies to increase tobacco treatment in mental health settings: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- What if I fail? Unsuccessful smoking cessation attempts and symptoms of depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Alcohol use disorder with comorbid anxiety disorder: a case report and focused literature review.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Pooled it
- Mindfulness for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a one-year smoking cessation intervention for people with severe mental illness: results of the KISMET cluster-randomized controlled trial.Psychological medicine · 2026Trial
- Effect of Lung Cancer Screening, Smoking Cessation, and Cessation Smartphone App to Health-Related Quality of Life Among Heavy Smokers: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Clinical Characteristics and Factors Associated with One-Year Smoking Cessation Among Smokers with COPD: A Subgroup Analysis of a Multicentre Randomised Trial.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Trial
- Integrating Smoking Cessation Treatment Into Web-Based Usual Psychological Care for People With Common Mental Illness: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial (ESCAPE Digital).JMIR mental health · 2025Trial
- intEgrating Smoking Cessation treatment As part of usual Psychological care for dEpression and anxiety (ESCAPE): A randomised and controlled, multi-centre, acceptability and feasibility trial with nested qualitative methods.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Trial
- Smokers with higher positive or negative urgency have lower rates of smoking cessation success 12 months after a quit attempt.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- A reduction in cigarette smoking improves health-related quality of life and does not worsen psychiatric symptoms in individuals with serious mental illness.Addictive behaviors · 2024Trial
- Communicating the benefits of quitting smoking on mental health increases motivation to quit in people with anxiety and/or depression.Addictive behaviors · 2024Trial
- Relative Efficacy of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Smartphone App with a Standard US Clinical Practice Guidelines-Based App for Smoking Cessation in Dual Users of Combustible and Electronic Cigarettes: Secondary Findings from a Randomized Trial.Substance use & misuse · 2024Trial
- Change in cardiovascular health among adults with current or past major depressive disorder enrolled in intensive smoking cessation treatment.Journal of affective disorders · 2023Trial
- Smoking Cessation and Changes in Anxiety and Depression in Adults With and Without Psychiatric Disorders.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Acceptability of integrating smoking cessation treatment into routine care for people with mental illness: A qualitative study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2023Trial
- Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled multicenter trial for the effects of a polyherbal remedy, Yokukansan (YiganSan), in smokers with depressive tendencies.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022Trial
422 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate change in mental health after smoking cessation compared with continuing to smoke.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. DATA SOURCES: Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO for relevant studies from inception to April 2012. Reference lists of included studies were hand searched, and authors were contacted when insufficient data were reported. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Longitudinal studies of adults that assessed mental health before smoking cessation and at least six weeks after cessation or baseline in healthy and clinical populations.
results26 studies that assessed mental health with questionnaires designed to measure anxiety, depression, mixed anxiety and depression, psychological quality of life, positive affect, and stress were included. Follow-up mental health scores were measured between seven weeks and nine years after baseline. Anxiety, depression, mixed anxiety and depression, and stress significantly decreased between baseline and follow-up in quitters compared with continuing smokers: the standardised mean differences (95% confidence intervals) were anxiety -0.37 (95% confidence interval -0.70 to -0.03); depression -0.25 (-0.37 to -0.12); mixed anxiety and depression -0.31 (-0.47 to -0.14); stress -0.27 (-0.40 to -0.13). Both psychological quality of life and positive affect significantly increased between baseline and follow-up in quitters compared with continuing smokers 0.22 (0.09 to 0.36) and 0.40 (0.09 to 0.71), respectively). There was no evidence that the effect size differed between the general population and populations with physical or psychiatric disorders.
conclusionsSmoking cessation is associated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress and improved positive mood and quality of life compared with continuing to smoke. The effect size seems as large for those with psychiatric disorders as those without. The effect sizes are equal or larger than those of antidepressant treatment for mood and anxiety disorders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.