A Mood Management Intervention in an Internet Stop Smoking Randomized Controlled Trial Does Not Prevent Depression

Abstract

Smoking and depression are related, and mood management interventions included in smoking cessation interventions can increase smoking abstinence rates. Could a mood management intervention embedded in an Internet-based smoking cessation intervention prevent major depressive episodes? Spanish- and English-speaking smokers (N = 17,430) from 191 countries were randomized to one of four online self-help intervention conditions (two with mood management). We analyzed preventive effects among those participants without a major depressive episode at baseline. The mood management intervention did not reduce the incidence of major depressive episodes in the following 12 months. However, we found a mood management by depression risk interaction (OR = 1.77, p = .004), such that high-risk participants who received the mood management intervention had an increased occurrence of major depressive episodes (32.8% vs. 26.6%), but not low-risk participants (11.6% vs. 10.8%). Further research on whether mood management interventions may have deleterious effects on subsets of smokers appears warranted.