# Pain-Related Anxiety and Smoking Lapse/Topography among African American Menthol Smokers with Chronic Low Back Pain

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON · 2022 · $37,420

## Abstract

I. Project Summary/Abstract
 Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disability1 and results in substantial
economic burden2. Estimates suggest that 13.7% of adults in the United States (US) are current smokers3. Yet,
tobacco use is not equally distributed in society. African American smokers evince elevated smoking rates
(14.6%)3 and up to 90% of African American adult smokers use menthol cigarettes compared to just 26% of
White smokers4. African American smokers are less likely to maintain cessation compared to non-Hispanic
White and Hispanic smokers despite making more quit attempts5. Smokers, in general, report greater pain
intensity compared to nonsmokers6 and the rate of smoking among individuals with chronic pain is higher than
the rates found within the general population7, 8. In fact, nationally-representative survey data indicates that the
prevalence of cigarette smoking among individuals with chronic pain may exceed twice the rate observed in
the general population [26-42% compared to 15%]9, 10 and the prevalence of smoking among African
Americans with chronic pain, may be even higher given their elevated rates of tobacco use3. Past work also
indicates that African Americans report a lower pain threshold11 and lower tolerance to pain12, 13, as well as
greater pain-related disability14. Accordingly, there is a critical public health need to better understand tobacco-
pain relations among African American menthol smokers with chronic pain. Pain-related anxiety, which reflects
concern about pain-related somatic sensations15, may be one underrecognized individual difference factor that
may help in understanding smoking maintenance and relapse among African American menthol smokers with
chronic pain. Pain-related anxiety may be predictive of smoking lapse behavior for this group as African
Americans have an increased awareness of the negative outcomes of aversive somatic symptoms and
physical illnesses such as pain symptoms16, 17. Therefore, the purpose of the current project is to understand
the role of pain-related anxiety in terms of smoking lapse using a multimodal assessment of smoking behavior
(via topography and self-report). The aims of this proposal are designed to demonstrate the importance of a
clinically malleable individual difference factor (i.e., pain-related anxiety) for African American menthol smokers
with chronic pain. Meeting the aims will have substantial public health significance as they represent progress
toward a precision medicine approach to smoking cessation and may lead to the development of culturally
tailored interventions for African American menthol smokers with chronic pain that targets the malleable
construct of pain-related anxiety.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10463584
- **Project number:** 5F31DA052994-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Justin Shepherd
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $37,420
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10463584

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10463584, Pain-Related Anxiety and Smoking Lapse/Topography among African American Menthol Smokers with Chronic Low Back Pain (5F31DA052994-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10463584. Licensed CC0.

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