Prevention of early weight gain may be critical to avoid relapse among women with a fear of weight gain. Menstrual phase has physiological fluctuation of fluid resulting in short-term weight gain, suggesting menstrual phase of smoking cessation may impact short-term weight gain. This study examined the effect of smoking abstinence and menstrual cycle on short-term weight gain. Women were randomized to quit smoking during the follicular or luteal phase of their cycle and followed for four weeks. Weight, among other measures, was recorded at five post-quit date visits (days 2, 5, 9, 12 and week 4). Participants (n = 152) were grouped based on randomized quit phase and smoking status after assigned quit date: 1) follicular (F), quit < 24 hours, 2) F, quit ≥ five days, 3) luteal (L), quit < 24 hours, and 4) L, quit ≥ five days. Participants who quit smoking experienced significantly more weight gain than those who quit for less than 24 hours. There were no significant increases in short-term weight gain based on menstrual cycle phase during attempted smoking cessation.
KeywordsCessation; Menstrual Cycle; Smoking; Weight; Women CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Sharon S. Allen, MD, PhD, University of Minnesota, Medical School, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, 2701 University Avenue SE, Suite 201, Minneapolis, MN 55414, Email: allen001@umn.edu, Phone: 612-624-2446, Fax: 612-625-0916. d Present Address: Carver County Public Health, Government Center, Administration Building, 600 East 4 th Street, Chaska, MN 55318 USA, Email: tbade@co.carver.mn.us Phone: 952-391-1349, Fax: 612-361-1360 Previous Affiliation: University of Minnesota, Medical School, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, 2701 University Avenue SE, Suite 201, Minneapolis, MN 55414 USA Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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IntroductionThe fear of weight gain is a major barrier to quitting smoking among women (Perkins, Levine, Marcus & Schiffman 1997). Weight gain is a common consequence of quitting (Gritz, Berman, Read, Marcus, & Siau, 1990;Hughes, Higgins, & Bickel, 1994), with an average post-cessation weight gain of 8-10 lbs (Kawachi, Troisi, Rotnitzky, Coakley, & Colditz, 1996;Williamson, Madans, Anda, Kleinman, Giovino, & Byers, 1991). Several studies report no significant differences in short-term weight gain over 4-10 days post-cessation (Hatsukami, LaBounty, Hughes, & Laine, 1993;Hellerstein, Benowitz, Neese, Schwartz, Hoh, Jacob, Hsieh, & Faix, 1994;Perkins, Epstein, & Pastor, 1990) while others show a significant gain among abstaining women compared...