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Trial of Integrated Smoking Cessation, Exercise and Weight Management in Serious Mental Illness (TRIUMPH)

Tobacco smoking is the single largest contributor to premature mortality in persons with serious mental illness. Many individuals with serious mental illness also have overweight or obesity and are physically inactive, and weight gain may accompany smoking cessation. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the TRIUMPH trial tested an innovative intervention to promote long-term tobacco smoking abstinence, improved physical activity, and weight control in adults with serious mental illness.

TRIUMPH was a randomized clinical trial embedded in outpatient community mental health programs in Maryland and tested an 18-month tobacco-smoking cessation intervention with pharmacologic and behavioral components, including weight management. This study included 192 adults with serious mental illness interested in quitting smoking within 1 or 6 months. 26.4% receiving the intervention and 5.7% of the control group achieved smoking abstinence at 18 months, without significant weight gain. The project's results support implementation of extended-duration tobacco cessation treatment to reduce smoking rates and cardiovascular risk in this population with elevated smoking and obesity prevalence (R01MH104533).

The TRIUMPH trial was featured in a HealthDay article in July 2023 and the National Institute of Mental Health highlighted the trial in their October 24, 2023 press release: "Helping People with Serious Mental Illness Quit Smoking"

Investigators 

Publications

  • Effect of a Tobacco Cessation Intervention Incorporating Weight Management for Adults With Serious Mental Illness: A Randomized Clinical Trial (Daumit et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2023)