Smoking linked with higher risk of type 2 diabetes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/hsop-slw091515.php

Public Release: 17-Sep-2015
Smoking linked with higher risk of type 2 diabetes
Harvard School of Public Health

Current smokers and people regularly exposed to second-hand smoke have a significantly increased risk for type 2 diabetes compared with people who have never smoked, according to a new meta-analysis conducted by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, and National University of Singapore. The researchers estimated that 11.7% of cases of type 2 diabetes in men and 2.4% in women (about 27.8 million cases in total worldwide) may be attributable to active smoking. They also found that risk decreases as time elapses after smokers quit.

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the evidence pointing to smoking as a risk factor for cancer, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular disease is overwhelming,

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They found that when compared with people who never smoked, current smoking increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 37%; former smoking by 14%; and passive smoking (breathing in second-hand smoke) by 22%. They also found a 54% increased risk of type 2 diabetes in people who quit smoking less than 5 years ago, which fell to 18% increased risk after 5 years and 11% increased risk more than 10 years after quitting.

Among current smokers, the amount smoked made a difference. The increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes was 21%, 34%, and 57% for light, moderate, and heavy smokers, respectively, compared with never smokers.

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