Background and Aims People with anxiety disorders are more likely to smoke and less likely to succeed when they try to quit. Anxiety sensitivity may underlie both phenomena, such that people with high anxiety sensitivity react to interoceptive distress by avoidance. This study aimed to test the efficacy of an exercise program that induced interoceptive distress and thereby created tolerance to this distress in a safe environment. Design, Setting and Participants Randomized clinical trial at four YMCA branches in Austin, Texas, USA. Participants [n = 150; 130 (86.7%) white; 101 (67.3%) female; meanage = 38.6, standard deviation (SD)age = 10.4] were adult, daily smokers with high anxiety sensitivity motivated to quit smoking, who reported no regular moderate‐intensity exercise. Interventions Participants were assigned a YMCA personal trainer who guided them through a 15‐week intervention aerobic exercise program. Participants assigned to the personalized intervention trained at 60–85% of their heart rate reserve (HRR), whereas participants assigned to the control intervention trained at 20–40% of their HRR. Participants in both groups received standard behavioral support and nicotine replacement therapy. Measurements The primary outcome was biologically verified 7‐day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) at 6‐month follow‐up. Findings Sixty‐one per cent of participants were available at the 6‐month follow‐up. PPA at 6 months was higher in the personalized intervention than the control intervention [27.6 versus 14.8%; odds ratio (OR) = 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.28, 3.80, P = 0.005], assuming missing at random. Anxiety sensitivity declined in both groups with no evidence that this differed between groups. Conclusions An exercise program of high intensity increased abstinence from smoking in people with high anxiety sensitivity, but may not have done so by reducing anxiety sensitivity.

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Heavy users and addicted individuals have shown to develop an approach action tendency – or approach bias – toward stimuli related to the substance of interest. Emerging evidence points to approach bias retraining (ABR) as an effective aid for the treatment of addictive behaviors. The current study seeks to extend this work by testing, in a pilot study, whether standard smoking cessation treatment involving cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and nicotine replacement therapy can be augmented by ABR. To this end, we will randomly assign 100 adult smokers to either ABR-augmented treatment or placebo-augmented treatment and compare the two conditions on short-term and long-term abstinence rates. The hope is that the findings of this study can inform treatment development for adult smokers.

Physical activity (PA) is recommended for cancer survivors and their romantic partners yet cancer couples may be unaware of the benefits of PA specific to them. Exercise interventions targeting survivors and partners simultaneously may prove effective at increasing exercise knowledge, intentions, and outcomes. To examine the effects of a remotely-delivered cancer-specific exercise education video on cancer survivors’ and their partners’ exercise knowledge, beliefs, and intentions. Cancer survivors (N = 209) and their romantic partners (N = 155) completed an online survey with an embedded education video randomized to half the sample. Group differences (education vs. control) on study constructs among the whole sample and on a subset of the sample not meeting exercise guidelines [i.e., less than 150 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week; 50.5% survivors, 45.1% partners] were examined. Group differences on study constructs were also tested between survivors and partners meeting exercise guidelines or not. Survivors and partners in the education condition were more likely to correctly report the MVPA guidelines. The education increased survivors’ personal exercise importance, outcome expectations, and likelihood of joining an individual exercise program. Participants meeting guidelines were significantly different on multiple exercise beliefs compared to those who were not. Among those not meeting guidelines, the education increased survivors’ belief in the importance of exercising with their partner. A remotely-delivered exercise education video increased exercise knowledge and beliefs, which represents an important step in the development of couples’ exercise interventions for cancer survivors and their romantic partners.

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