An Unexpected Side-Effect of Quitting Smoking

We’ve known for some time that cigarette smoking is a predictor of type 2 diabetes, but the effects of stopping smoking on the risk of getting diabetes has been unknown.  Until recently, when a new study from the National Health Institutes (NCI), published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, brings some surprising information.

Almost 11,000 middle-aged adults who didn’t have diabetes were followed for about 9 years, during which about 12% of them developed diabetes.  Compared with those who never smoked, those who continued smoking during follow-up had an increased risk - roughly 30% - of developing diabetes, while those who quit smoking within 3 years of starting the study had almost a 75% increase in risk.  Analyses showed the risk increase was associated, to a certain extent, with increased weight gain and/or inflammation in the body (as shown by a raised white cell count). 

As the researchers state, for smokers at risk for diabetes, quitting should be coupled with strategies for diabetes prevention and early detection (e.g. lifestyle counseling and aggressive weight management).  What’s really important about this study, however, is that it should not be seen as an excuse for people to avoid quitting smoking.  There are many serious health risks caused by smoking: lung cancer, COPD, coronary heart disease, age-related macular degeneration, bladder cancer, and so on.  So quit (but make sure to avoid any weight increase!)