Efficacy and implementation of exercise-based smoking cessation treatment for adults with high anxiety sensitivity (STEP): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Jasper A J Smits; Michael J Zvolensky; Marshall K Cheney; David Rosenfield; Richard A Brown; Stacy Stevens Manser; Michael W Otto; Slaton Z Freeman; Marla I Sarmiento; Sydney E Thureen

doi:10.1016/j.cct.2024.107521

Efficacy and implementation of exercise-based smoking cessation treatment for adults with high anxiety sensitivity (STEP): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 Jun:141:107521. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107521. Epub 2024 Apr 3.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology and Institute for Mental Health Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Electronic address: smits@utexas.edu.
² Department of Psychology and Health Institute, The University of Houston, Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
³ Department of Health and Exercise Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75205, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology and Institute for Mental Health Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
⁶ School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80204, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychology and Institute for Mental Health Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.

PMID: 38580103
DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107521

Abstract

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), reflecting the fear of bodily sensations, is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor that underpins both affective psychopathology and smoking. Phase II research supports the efficacy of a 15-week community-based intervention (STEP) that combines high-intensity exercise offered by the YMCA with standard smoking cessation treatment (tobacco quitline and nicotine replacement therapy) for sedentary smokers with elevated AS. This Phase III study aims to enroll 360 adults to evaluate whether STEP efficacy for achieving smoking abstinence generalizes to Black and Hispanic smokers with elevated AS.

Keywords: Anxiety sensitivity; Exercise; Health behavior; Smoking cessation.

Publication types

Clinical Trial Protocol
Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety* / psychology
Anxiety* / therapy
Exercise / psychology
Exercise Therapy / methods
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Smoking Cessation* / methods
Smoking Cessation* / psychology
Tobacco Use Cessation Devices

Grants and funding

R01 CA273221/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States