Secondhand Smoke May Increase Diabetes Risk

“The increased risk of developing type two diabetes was 21 per cent, 34 per cent, and 57 per cent for light, moderate, and heavy smokers, respectively, compared with those who never smoked”. The study also shows that people who are exposed to smoke have a 22 percent higher chance of developing the disease.

Smokers who quit could lower their risk of type 2 diabetes in the long term, research suggests.

The authors also called for more research into the mechanisms underlying the short-term increased risk of diabetes in recent quitters in order to help develop interventions to improve smoking cessation and prevent diabetes.

This is what researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, and National University of Singapore set out to explore through a meta-analysis of 88 previous studies on the association between smoking and type 2 diabetes risk, looking at health data from almost 6 million study participants.

Among the risks that accompany smoking tobacco, it turns out that Type 2 diabetes is the most recently discovered.

The risk of lung cancer decreases over time, though it can never return to that of a never smoker.

Researchers delved a bit deeper and found that 11.7% of type 2 diabetes cases in men were attributed to smoking, while the same consequences fell on 2.4% of women.

“Cigarette smoking cigarettes or cigars should be evaluated just like a secret adjustable threat for diabetes”. Researchers say the risk extends to family members, exposed to second hand smoke. Hu also said that cigarette smoking should be considered as a key modifiable risk factor for diabetes. However, no substantial differences were noted when adjustments were made for these factors.

There is good news, though: it turns out that this rate of risk can be dramatically reduced if smokers simply stop and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Richard Elliott, a spokesperson for Diabetes United Kingdom said that it is no secret that both active and passive smoking can have terrible consequences including death, but little is known about a link between passive smoking and a heightened risk of diabetes. For instance, regulators should create more smoke-free areas to lower secondhand smoke exposure.

With the epidemic of diabetes occurring on a global basis, smoking must be added to the other causes of type 2 diabetes that include sugar consumption, obesity, lack of exercise, and stress management.