Objective: Smoking represents a major public health problem among patients with
schizophrenia. To this end, some studies have investigated the efficacy of
varenicline for facilitating smoking cessation in
schizophrenia patients. The present review seeks to synthesize the results of these studies as well as document the reported side effects of using this medication. Methods: An electronic search was performed using five major databases: PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Included in the current analysis were randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that have investigated the effect of
varenicline in promoting smoking cessation in patients with
schizophrenia. Risk of bias among included RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's quality assessment tool. Results: Among the 828 screened articles, only four RCTs, which involved 239 participants, were eligible for meta-analysis. In patients with
schizophrenia,
varenicline treatment when compared to placebo significantly reduced the number of cigarettes consumed per day [SMD (95% CI) = 0.89(0.57-1.22)] and expired
carbon monoxide levels [SMD (95% CI) = 0.50 (0.06-0.94)] respectively. Conclusion: Despite a limited number of studies included in the meta-analysis, our results suggest that
varenicline is an effective and safe
drug to assist smoking cessation in patients with
schizophrenia. Future large-scale well-designed RCTs are required to validate these findings.