Concordance of different measures of nicotine dependence: Two pilot studies

Two samples of adult daily smokers completed a structured interview to determine nicotine dependence according to generic (DSM-IV/ICD-10), Fagerstrom [Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ), Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Heavy Smoking Index (HSI), and time to first cigarette after awakening (TFC)], consumption [e.g., cigarettes/day (CPD)], and self-rating (e.g., "how addicted are you") measures. One sample was a population-based sample of 43 smokers from the Vermont site of the DSM-IV field trial for substance use disorders. The other sample consisted of 50 smokers evenly distributed across a wide range of CPD to study biochemical markers of smokers. In the first study, DSM/ICD criteria were only slightly correlated with Fagerstrom (r=.24-.35) and consumption (r=.06-0.33) criteria. Self-rating criteria were correlated moderately with most other criteria (r=.24-.60). In the second study, generic, Fagerstrom, and self-rating criteria increased with increasing CPD up to 30 CPD but not thereafter. One interpretation of these results is that generic, Fagerstrom, consumption, and self-rating criteria each tap different aspects of nicotine dependence. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.