Cigarette Smoking Affects Glycemic Control in Diabetes
- Jenny E. Gunton, MBBS, FRACP,
- Linda Davies, BAPPSC,
- Errol Wilmshurst, MBBS, MRACP, MD, FRACP,
- Greg Fulcher, MBBS, MD, FRACP and
- Aidan McElduff, MBBS, PHD, FRACP
- Department of Endocrinology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Tight glycemic control in diabetes is one of the cornerstones of management. Glycemic control is usually assessed with HbA1c. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial showed that in type 1 diabetes, decreasing HbA1c from 9.0 to 7.2% resulted in a 50–75% reduction in retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy (1). The U.K. Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) showed that in type 2 diabetes, decreasing HbA1c from 7.9 to 7.0% decreased retinopathy and nephropathy (2).
Increased insulin resistance occurs in smokers with and without diabetes (3,4). Smoking is also a risk factor for development of type 2 diabetes. The …
