Diabetes Risk Goes Up With Smoking

Diabetes risk is considerably increased by smoking. This has been found out time and time again. The research at the University of Lausanne involved 1.2 million smokers and found smokers have a 44% increase to develop type 2 diabetes. And the more one smokes, the risk goes higher.

The Journal of American Medical Association also conducted a study and found that those who smoke 20 cigarettes per day had their risk to develop diabetes rise to 61% while the light smokers’ risk is 29% higher than those who do not smoke. The researchers said the study did not prove that smoking contributed to diabetes but that the statistics were significant.

Smoking has previously been linked to insulin resistance but it is not easy to prove that it contributes to the development of diabetes because smokers usually have other habits that are not good for health like eating unhealthy meals and not getting adequate physical activity.

Charity Diabetes UK’s Douglas Smallwood found it interesting to note that the higher diabetes risk among the smokers could very well be the missing piece of the puzzle in identifying those who are at risk. Knowledge like this that piles up contributes to slowing down the development of diabetes.

The finding that smokers are more than two times likely to develop diabetes than those who do not smoke supports the warning that the surgeon general issued against cigarette smoking. The risk to cardiovascular disease is clearer than diabetes but then these two conditions share many of the risk factors like older age, insufficient physical activity and fat distribution in the upper part of the body.

There is good news. It looks like the risk can be reduced as proven by the fact that those who quit smoking do not have a significantly increased diabetes risk when compared with those who never smoked. This gives credibility to the recommendations to quit this habit.

Smoking can increase the blood glucose level and lead to insulin resistance. The more one smokes, the greater is the diabetes risk. Those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, for example, almost double their risk when compared to those who do not smoke.

The association between smoking and diabetes has become clearer with each study conducted. The question is no longer whether there is a link between the two but rather to see if the relationship is causal. For one thing the heavy smokers have a higher risk and that smoking leads to insulin resistance.

Now comes the question of cessation. How does one stop this toxic combination of smoking and diabetes? Perhaps mentioning the benefits of not lighting up will help especially the diabetic smokers whose complications could be aggravated by this habit. Here are the benefits:

• Blood sugar control is better which will lead to lower A1C reading.
• The risk for diabetic complications is lowered.
• Blood pressure is maintained better at target level.
• Cholesterol level is also reduced.
• There is an overall healthy feeling.

We could go on and on with the benefits but the doctors should also be there to encourage their patients to quit this habit. Assessment, counseling, training and follow-up should be the order of the day. After all, it is a modifiable diabetes risk.

Please visit these sites for more diabetes help:
Diabetes Risk Factors
Diabetes Guidelines 1

Brief Biography: Dr. Guzman worked for the Atlantic Health Corporation and was consultant to St. Joseph’s Hospital, Sussex Mental Health Clinic, and St. Stephen Mental Health Clinic for many years. He was Director of Forensic Psychiatry at Centracare for ten years and published numerous articles in the Journal of the American College of Forensic Psychiatry and other medical magazines.

Copyright © November 12, 2009 Roger Guzman, M.D. (Diabetes Risk Goes Up With Smoking) All Rights Reserved. You may copy and publish this article as long as the text, the author’s name, the active links and this notice remain the same.