Association of CREB1 (rs2253206) and BDNF (rs6265) Polymorphisms with Implementation Intentions Treatment Response in Smoking Reduction.

Background: Previous studies have shown that implementation intentions are moderately effective in reducing smoking among smokers, but the factors determining its effectiveness are unclear. CREB1 (rs2253206) and BDNF (rs6265) polymorphisms have been proposed as the genes involved in addictive behaviors; therefore, we investigated their association with smokers’ responses to implementation intentions psychotherapy. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on smoking male students at Tehran University and Shahid Beheshti University. The research sample was 78 smoking students who smoked at least seven cigarettes weekly. All of the participants received an implementation intentions intervention session. Their smoking rates were measured before and after the intervention, and all of them were genotyped for CREB1 (rs2253206) and BDNF (rs6265) using PCR-RFLP. The prospective-retrospective memory questionnaire (PRMQ) was used to evaluate the prospective memory (PM). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and simple linear regression were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 26 at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The results showed that implementation intentions affect smoking reduction (t = 4.44, P = 0.001). Data analysis showed no relationship between these two SNPs and treatment response. Also, no association was observed between these SNPs and PM. However, regression analysis showed that PM could predict the response to treatment (R² = 0.10, F = 12.15, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Implementation intentions can be suitable for reducing smoking. Studying the effect of genetic factors on psychotherapy in larger samples could be an effective way to individualize psychological treatments in reducing smoking, including implementation intentions.