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BACKGROUND: Repeated cigarette use in individuals generally occurs due to the craving for smoking. Orexin-leptin hormones and temperament character traits are thought to be important factors affecting nicotine craving.
OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to determine orexin-leptin blood levels, which appear in nicotine deprivation, in health professionals who were diagnosed as having tobacco use disorder in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) and to assess the temperament-character traits of the same group and to provide biologic and psychotherapeutic data for the treatment of tobacco abuse.
METHODS: The study sample consisted of faculty of medicine students and resident physicians who were smokers (n = 40). The control group comprised medical students and resident physicians who were non-smokers (n = 40). The Sociodemographic and Clinical Information Form, DSM-IV SCID-I Clinical Version, and Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were applied to both groups. Substance Craving Scale (SCS) and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence were applied only smoking group. Blood samples were taken for plasma orexin and serum leptin levels for both groups.
RESULTS: The plasma orexin levels were lower in the smokers group (p < .001). No statistically significant relations were determined between the SCS and plasma orexin and serum leptin levels in the smoking group. No significant differences were determined between the leptin (U = 119.5, p = .33) and orexin (U = 99, p = .11) levels of the heavy and very heavy smokers. The total points of novelty seeking (NS), and NS3 and NS4 subscale points in the TCI of the smoking group (p = .003, p = .003, p = .002), and the self-directedness (SD) SD2 and SD5 (p = .02, p = .01) subscale points, and total cooperativeness points (TC), and C4 and C5 subscale points (p = .001, p = .002, p = .001) of the non-smoking group were found as high.
CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE: Differences were detected between the smokers and nonsmokers in TCI scale subgroups and in terms of orexin levels. These results will greatly assist in the fight against craving that appears as a result of smoking cessation. Orexin appears to be more specific for nicotine craving than leptin. It seems more likely that the quest for the treatment of craving will continue through orexin. Temperament and personality traits are important for determining psychotherapeutic and supportive approaches to the release of tobacco and tobacco products. A number of studies investigating monoaminergic mechanisms indirectly related to orexin and leptin are required to research temperament, which has a greater genetic burden.