2.1. Study Procedures and Randomization Settings
depression, type 2 diabetes, coronavirus disease 2019, diabetes
MAY, CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019, TYPE 2 DIABETES, DIABETES
Participants were recruited among patients with diabetes treated at the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Cathay General Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan) from August 2020 and May 2021; however, this study had to be discontinued in May 2021 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, unfortunately, due to the risk from nitrosamine impurity in varenicline, it was requested to be taken off the shelves by the health authorities in Taiwan in July 2021 [The inclusion criteria were as follows: age 20 to 75 years with type 2 diabetes for at least 1 year, Mandarin Chinese or Taiwanese as the spoken language, smoking one or more cigarettes per day, and not taking cessation medication or joining any cessation plan. The exclusion criteria were signs of clinical depression or cognitive function impairment.Between August 2020 and May 2021, prior to the COVID-19 restrictions in May 2021 in Taiwan, 92 potential subjects were screened from database but only 74 subjects were enrolled in the study. In total, outcome measures were available for 35 participants in the intervention group and 33 in the control group, while six participants withdrew from the follow-up due to the drug recall (