Health and Well-Being-Menstrual cycle can affect smoking cessation
For women who are trying to quit smoking, it appears that timing is everything. In research published in a recent issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Kenneth A. Perkins, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, found that women who quit smoking during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (one-14 days following menstruation) experienced less severe symptoms of tobacco withdrawal and depression than women who quit during the luteal phase (day 15 or longer post-menstrual).
According to Perkins, the differences in symptoms could be due to the menstrual cycle's hormonal changes and their influence on mood. Negative mood cycle due to cycle phase combined with tobacco withdrawal could make sustained quitting very difficult.
"One implication of these results is that younger women preparing to quit smoking should select a quit day early in their menstrual cycle to minimize withdrawal symptoms and depression," says Perkins. "This simple behavioral strategy for timing the quit day may decrease negative mood effects of cessation at no cost or risk of adverse side effects to the smoker."
According to Perkins, further study of hormonal influences and sex differences in factors affecting smoking behavior may lead to improved treatment of smoking cessation in women.
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