Three analyses (all from the same study) reported a significant relationship between selleck chemical Nutlin-3a cue-induced craving and treatment outcome that was in the opposite direction from what would be expected (Powell et al., 2011) such that those who were more reactive to cues were less likely to relapse. What Is the Relationship Between Prequit General Craving and Treatment Outcome? The relationship between general craving measured before the TQD and subsequent outcome was examined in 20 studies (median sample size = 107; see Table 2). Of these studies, 13 reported nonsignificant associations between craving and outcome, 3 found significant relationships, and 4 reported mixed results. A total of 46 analyses were extracted from these 20 studies; of these, 34 (74%) reported a lack of association between craving and outcome, while 12 (26%) found a significant relationship.

Of the studies that found a significant relationship between craving and outcome, 66% of the analyses used a multi-item craving measure. In contrast, only 26% of the studies reporting a nonsignificant relationship between prequit craving and outcome used a multi-item measure. Table 2. Studies That Examine the Relationship Between Prequit Craving and Treatment Outcome The time that craving was measured ranged from very proximal to the quit attempt (i.e., on the TQD just before the quit attempt was made) to up to 3 months before the TQD. A variety of treatment outcomes were assessed (e.g., abstinent vs. smoking, time to lapse, likelihood of lapse) over a wide range of timepoints (from as early as the TQD to as long as 1 year postquit).

Overall, prequit craving did not appear to be tightly coupled to treatment outcome. What Is the Relationship Between Postquit Craving and Treatment Outcome? The relationship between general craving assessed after a quit attempt and subsequent treatment outcome was examined in 31 studies (median sample size = 214) yielding a total of 104 analyses (see Table 3). Of these studies, 4 reported nonsignificant associations between craving and outcome, 19 found significant relationships, and 8 reported mixed results. Of these analyses, 62 (60%) reported a statistically significant relationship between craving and outcome and 42 (40%) reported nonsignificant results. Timing of the craving assessment in relation to participants�� quit date ranged from as early as on the quit day up to 6 weeks after the cessation attempt.

The time period during which treatment outcome was assessed also varied Drug_discovery considerably within this subset of studies, ranging from the quit date to as long as 2 years postquit. Overall, postquit craving showed an inconsistent relationship with treatment outcome. Table 3. Studies That Examine the Relationship Between Postquit Craving and Treatment Outcome Studies That Related Both Prequit and Postquit Craving to Outcome Several studies assessed both pre- and postquit craving and related those measures to treatment outcome (k = 5).