A new smoking cessation "cascade" among women with or at risk for HIV infection.

OBJECTIVES To define a smoking cessation "cascade" among US women with and without HIV and examine differences by sociodemographic characteristics. DESIGN Observational cohort study using data from smokers participating in the Women's Interagency HIV Study between 2014 and 2019. METHODS We followed 1165 women smokers with and without HIV from their first study visit in 2014 or 2015 until 1) an attempt to quit smoking within approximately three years of follow-up, 2) initial cessation (i.e., no restarting smoking within approximately six months of a quit attempt), and 3) sustained cessation (i.e., no restarting smoking within approximately 12 months of a quit attempt). Using the Aalen-Johansen estimator, we estimated the cumulative probability of achieving each step, accounting for the competing risk of death. RESULTS Forty-five percent of smokers attempted to quit, 27% achieved initial cessation, and 14% achieved sustained cessation with no differences by HIV status. Women with some post-high school education were more likely to achieve each step than those with less education. Outcomes did not differ by race. Thirty-six percent (95% CI: 31, 42) of uninsured women attempted to quit compared to 47% (95% CI: 44, 50) with Medicaid and 49% (95% CI: 41, 59) with private insurance. CONCLUSIONS To decrease smoking among US women with and without HIV, targeted, multi-stage interventions and increased insurance coverage are needed to address shortfalls along this cascade.