The Relationship between Smoking Cessation Fatigue and Nicotine Dependence Severity

Abstract

This study assessed the relationship between cessation fatigue and nicotine dependence level (NDL) by predicting cessation success using a standardized scale. Cessation fatigue was measured by the Turkish version of the Cessation Fatigue Scale (CFS), which includes emotional exhaustion (EA), pessimism (P), and devaluation (D) as subscales. Nicotine dependence was assessed using the Fagerstrom Test for nicotine dependence (FTND). The prospective study was planned to take place at the Family Medicine outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in February and May 2019. Out of 313 individuals (median age= 40 years; SD= 22.63; 40.3% females), 32.3% had a high nicotine dependence level. No relationship between cessation fatigue and NDL was detected by CFS. Women had greater EA scores than men, whereas men had greater P and D scores. The EA score was higher among patients unable to quit, while P score was higher in among patients who quit successfully. A cut-off value was detected (≥10 points) for the pessimism subscale. Lastly, although the reliability of the CFS scale was high (Cronbach’s alfa value=0.76), the CFS could not predict cessation success significantly. However, the CFS did demonstrate successful patients have lower initial fatigue scores.