SynthesisNicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco2016
Sex Differences in Varenicline Efficacy for Smoking Cessation: A Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis in Cannabis Treatment Outcomes: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Nicotine receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Evaluating mediators of the effect of varenicline preloading on smoking abstinence in a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Trial
- Acute analgesic effect of nicotine vaping using three experimental pain induction tasks: a randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory study.Psychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Effect of Extending the Duration of Prequit Treatment With Varenicline on Smoking Abstinence: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Evaluating Treatment Mechanisms of Varenicline: Mediation by Affect and Craving.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Trial
- The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Hormones on Responses to Varenicline and Naltrexone Among Female Heavy Drinking Smokers.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2022Trial
- The impact of three weeks of pre-quit varenicline on reinforcing value and craving for cigarettes in a laboratory choice procedure.Psychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- The effect of varenicline on mood and cognition in smokers with HIV.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- The influence of gender and oxytocin on stress reactivity, cigarette craving, and smoking in a randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory relapse paradigm.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Exogenous progesterone for smoking cessation in men and women: a pilot double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2019Trial
- Longitudinal Findings from a Randomized Clinical Trial of Varenicline for Alcohol Use Disorder with Comorbid Cigarette Smoking.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Effects of Varenicline, Depressive Symptoms, and Region of Enrollment on Smoking Cessation in Depressed Smokers.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019Trial
- Factors associated with the efficacy of smoking cessation treatments and predictors of smoking abstinence in EAGLES.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Trial
- Ovarian Hormones and Transdermal Nicotine Administration Independently and Synergistically Suppress Tobacco Withdrawal Symptoms and Smoking Reinstatement in the Human Laboratory.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Varenicline versus nicotine patch with brief advice for smokers with substance use disorders with or without depression: effects on smoking, substance use and depressive symptoms.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2017Trial
- Toward precision smoking cessation treatment I: Moderator results from a factorial experiment.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Trial
- Nicotine self-administration suppresses both pro- and anti-inflammatory accumbens cytokines but does not induce apoptosis in female rats.Addiction neuroscience · 2026Article
- Clinical and preclinical evidence of sex differences in nicotine-induced enhancement of alcohol self-administration.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionWomen have lower rates of quitting than men with both bupropion and nicotine replacement. It is unknown whether varenicline demonstrates differential efficacy for men and women. The purpose of this study was to conduct the first comprehensive meta-analysis of clinical trial data examining sex differences in the efficacy of varenicline for smoking cessation.
methodsSearching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychINFO, 17 of 43 clinical trials of varenicline for smoking cessation published through December 31, 2014 were low-bias randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials. Data (n = 6710 smokers, 34% female, n = 16 studies, 96% of available data) was analyzed with Metafor program in R. Outcome endpoints were 7-day point-prevalence (PP) and continuous-abstinence (CA) at week 12 (end of treatment), week 24 (6-month follow-up), and week 52 (12-month follow-up).
resultsUsing placebo, women were less likely than men to quit (PP-12, CA-24; P < .05 for sex). Using varenicline, similar rates of abstinence for men and women were demonstrated for all six outcomes (eg, PP-12 abstinence rates were 53% in both women and men). Varenicline versus placebo outcomes demonstrated that varenicline was more effective for women for short and intermediate outcomes (PP-12, CA-12, CA-24; P < .05 sex × medication interaction). For end-of-treatment PP, varenicline was 46% more effective for women. For continuous abstinence, varenicline was 34% (CA-12) and 31% (CA-24) more effective for women.
conclusionsUnlike other smoking cessation medications, varenicline demonstrated greater efficacy among women smokers for short and immediate-term outcomes and equal efficacy for 1-year outcomes. Varenicline may be particularly useful for reducing the sex disparity typically seen in rates of smoking cessation. IMPLICATIONS: Varenicline is currently the most effective FDA-approved smoking cessation medication and this is the first demonstration that women compared with men have a preferred therapeutic response for a smoking cessation medication when considering short-term outcomes. Importantly, this is also the first demonstration that women have similar rates of quitting to men when considering longer-term, 1-year outcomes.
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.