Tobacco Use Predicts Treatment Dropout and Outcome in an Acute, Transdiagnostic Psychiatric Treatment Setting

Abstract

Tobacco use is consistently associated with greater levels of depression and anxiety, broadly, and preliminary evidence suggests that current tobacco use is a significant predictor of dropout from psychiatric treatment. The current study extends past work to examine the impact of tobacco use on treatment dropout and outcomes in an acute psychiatric treatment setting. Upon intake to a partial hospitalization program (PHP), patients completed a battery of measures assessing sociodemographic characteristics, current tobacco use, depression and generalized anxiety, and substance use. Patients at the PHP also completed measures assessing levels of depression and generalized anxiety again upon discharge from the program. In line with hypotheses, current tobacco use was a significant predictor of dropout from treatment at the PHP. Importantly, this relationship remained significant when statistically controlling for demographic variables and psychiatric and substance use severity (such as number of previous inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations and degree of alcohol or drug problems). Results from the current study indicate that tobacco use is a significant risk factor for treatment dropout. Further research is needed to replicate these findings and to determine the mechanism underlying this link between tobacco use and treatment dropout for people receiving intensive psychiatric care.