Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27507930›Full record

ArticleTobacco induced diseases2016

Effects of varenicline on sympatho-vagal balance and cue reactivity during smoking withdrawal: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Helge Haarmann, Alexandra Gossler, Peter Herrmann, Slavtcho Bonev, Xuan Phuc Nguyen, Gerd Hasenfuß, Stefan Andreas, Tobias Raupach

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco induced diseases, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Decrease in Resting Heart Rate Measured Using Smartphone Apps to Verify Abstinence From Smoking: An Exploratory Study.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020
    Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Helge Haarmann *Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, D-37099 Göttingen, Germany.
Alexandra Gossler *Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, D-37099 Göttingen, Germany.
Peter HerrmannDepartment of Anaesthesiology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Slavtcho BonevMannheim Biomedical Engineering Laboratories, Medical Faculty at Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Xuan Phuc NguyenMannheim Biomedical Engineering Laboratories, Medical Faculty at Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Gerd HasenfußDepartment of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, D-37099 Göttingen, Germany.
Stefan AndreasDepartment of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, D-37099 Göttingen, Germany.
Tobias RaupachDepartment of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, D-37099 Göttingen, Germany.
Heidelberg University · DEUniversity College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVarenicline is an effective smoking cessation medication. Some concern has been raised that its use may precipitate adverse cardiovascular events although no patho-physiological mechanism potentially underlying such an effect has been reported. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that varenicline impacts on sympatho-vagal balance during smoking withdrawal.

methodsIn this randomised, placebo-controlled trial, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), heart rate, and blood pressure were assessed in 17 smokers four weeks before a quit attempt (baseline) and again on the third day of that quit attempt (acute smoking withdrawal).

resultsRegarding the primary endpoint of our study, we did not find a significant effect of varenicline compared to placebo on changes in MSNA burst incidence between baseline and acute smoking withdrawal (-3.0 ± 3.3 vs.-3.9 ± 5.0 bursts/100 heart beats; p = 0.308). However, heart rate and systolic blood pressure significantly decreased in the placebo group only, while no significant changes in these parameters were observed in the varenicline group. Exposure to smoking cues during acute withdrawal lead to a significant increase of heart rate in the placebo group, while heart rate decreased in the varenicline group, and the difference in these changes was significant between groups (+2.7 ± 1.0 vs.-1.8 ± 0.5 1/min; p = 0.002). In all 17 participants combined, a significant increase in heart rate during smoking cue exposure was detected in subjects who relapsed in the course of six weeks after the quit date compared to those who stayed abstinent (+2.5 ± 1.2 vs.-1.1 ± 0.7; p = 0.018). Six-week abstinence rates were higher in the varenicline group compared to placebo (88 vs. 22 % p = 0.015).

conclusionWe did not find evidence of adverse effects of varenicline on sympatho-vagal balance. Varenicline probably blunts the heart rate response to smoking cues, which may be linked to improved cessation outcome.

Indexed as

BaroreflexCue reactivitySmoking cessationSympathetic activity

Identifiers

PMID27507930
PMCPMC4977756
OpenAlexW2514230162

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.