Smoking may Increase Risk of Diabetes

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Now you can add diabetes to the list of negative health consequences attributed to smoking. New research at Wake Forest University in N.C., shows there is a link between smoking and developing diabetes.

The Wake Forest research team, led by Capri Foy, Ph.D., compared how often diabetes occurred over a five-year period in people who smoked vs. those who did not. They found 25 percent of the smokers studied developed diabetes compared to 14 percent among those who did not smoke.

Even when the results were adjusted for other diabetes risk factors, such as obesity and alcohol consumption, the results still showed a significantly increased risk of diabetes among smokers. "These findings suggest another poor health outcome associated with cigarettes, supporting the current surgeon general's warnings against cigarette smoking," Foy says.

Other negative health consequences associated with smoking include heart disease and lung cancer. Previous studies from this team of researchers found that buildup of fatty substances on artery walls is also associated with smoking.

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SOURCE: Diabetes Care, Oct. 2005:28