Nicotine addiction and the influence of life adversity and acute stress on PYY: Prediction of early smoking relapse

Abstract Early life adversity (ELA) is associated with earlier initiation and maintenance of tobacco smoking and with a greater risk of subsequent relapse. There is growing evidence that appetite hormones, including peptide YY (PYY), which modulates craving and satiety responses, play a role in stress and addiction processes. This study employed a quasi‐experimental design to examine the association between ELA and circulating PYY stress responses in smokers and nonsmokers (N = 152, ages 19–73 years) to examine the effects of nicotine addiction. Smokers initiated a quit attempt as part of the study and were classified as either abstinent smokers or relapsed smokers based on their nicotine use during the follow‐up period. PYY levels were measured at five timepoints during three lab sessions and compared between nonsmokers and the two smoking groups (abstainers, relapsers): while smokers were using nicotine ad libitum, 24 h after smokers initiated a quit attempt, and 4 weeks after smokers initiated a quit attempt. Multivariate analyses showed the main effects of time on PYY, which decreased over time within each session. The main effects of ELA during the first (ad libitum smoking) and second (24‐h post‐cessation for smokers) sessions indicated that experiencing ELA was associated with lower PYY. No systematic effect of nicotine addiction or relapse was observed in this study. These findings suggest that adults with higher ELA may experience lower PYY. Additional research is needed to further explore the role of PYY in stress and addiction processes.