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Smoking is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, several population studies also show a higher risk in people 3–5 years after quitting smoking than in people who continue to smoke.

Researchers at the Universities of Coventry, Birmingham, Oxford, Bradford, Nottingham and Bristol examined the primary care records of 10,692 adult smokers with T2DM over six years to investigate whether or not quitting smoking was associated with altered diabetes control.

Findings published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology this week suggest that 21% of people who stopped smoking and remained abstinent for at least one year, HbA1c2 - the average measurement indicating how well the body is controlling blood glucose levels -  increased by 0.21%. In the same period, 55% of continual smokers who did not change their smoking status during the study experienced a more gradual increase in HbA1c. Researchers found that levels in quitters became comparable with the levels seen in continual smokers three years after quitting.

Principal Investigator Dr Deborah Lycett

 

Read the article in Medical Press.