Monday, March 14, 2016

Did you know that smoking can lead to Type 2 diabetes?

Smoking can lead to diabetes, and then cause more complications from the disease. So writes Dr. Laura B. Hieronymus, associate director of education and quality services at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky, in a column in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Laura Hieronymus
Smoking can cause resistance to insulin, which helps control levels of sugar in the blood. "Insulin resistance can occur if you have a family history of it, are overweight and/or have a sedentary lifestyle," Hieronymus writes. "Experts report smokers are insulin resistant and the more you smoke, the greater your chances of Type 2 diabetes. Data suggest if you smoke 16 to 25 cigarettes a day, your risk for Type 2 diabetes is three times higher than if you don’t smoke. In contrast, if you quit smoking and stay quit, your risk for Type 2 diabetes actually decreases."

If you have diabetes, smoking can make complications from it more likely, Hieronymus writes: "Damage to the blood vessels and nerves in your body is more common and often to a greater degree than if you have diabetes and don’t smoke. The heavier and the longer you smoke the greater your risk for complications. The bottom line is that smoking and diabetes are a dangerous combination. The good news is that by quitting smoking and keeping your blood glucose optimally controlled, you can greatly lower your chances for diabetes complications."

No comments:

Post a Comment