Intraindividual change in anxiety sensitivity and alcohol use severity 12-months following smoking cessation treatment

Although past work has documented reduction in alcohol use severity among smokers following smoking cessation treatment, little is known regarding factors associated with this reduction. The current study sought to examine relations between trajectories of change in anxiety sensitivity and non-targeted alcohol use severity from baseline to one year following smoking cessation treatment. Individuals (n = 386) were adult daily smokers engaged in a smoking cessation treatment study. Measures of alcohol use severity and anxiety sensitivity were collected at baseline as well as 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-treatment. Latent growth curve modelling was used to estimate intercepts and slopes. Anxiety sensitivity (M = -0.87 95% CI [-1.19, 0.54], p < 0.001) and alcohol use severity (M = -0.22 95% CI [-0.38, 0.06], p = 0.006) each significantly reduced over time. Reductions in anxiety sensitivity were strongly associated with reductions in alcohol use over time (r = 0.63, 95% CI [0.18, 1.09], p = 0.006). Changes in anxiety sensitivity positively correlated with changes in alcohol use severity. Examinations of means suggest that anxiety sensitivity reduced earlier whereas alcohol use severity reduced later in the follow-up period. If replicated establishing temporal precedence of change, these results could implicate anxiety sensitivity reduction as one avenue towards reduced alcohol use severity, among smokers.