Passive smoking increases the risk of diabetes

Not only smoking but also passive smoking increases the type II diabetes risk.

(30.05.2010) As reported by the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf, passive smoking also increases the risk of developing type II diabetes. So far, it has only been scientifically known that active smoking increases the risk of diabetes. However, based on a joint study of Diabteszentrum in Dusseldorf and the Helmholtz Zentrum in Munich, in which 1351 volunteers participated, it was demonstrated for the first time that even passive smokers are exposed to an increased health risk.

In the "Kora study" between 1999 and 2001 subjects were subjected to oral sugar load tests. The method of studying sugar stress is referred to as the OGTT method and is considered the standard test for diagnosing diabetes. During the course of the study, no one was diagnosed with diabetes type II by those aged 55 to 74 years old. After about 7 years, a large part of the subjects (887) were re-examined. The result shocked: The active smokers were known to be at high risk of developing type II diabetes. However, passive smokers who were exposed to cigarette smoke either at home or at work had twice the risk of developing diabetes than the study participants, who were not passively exposed to the blue haze.

In another analysis, the researchers included only the "prediabetics" identified in the basic study. Prediabetes is a beginning metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance. In these subjects, the risk of diabetes from active and passive smoking was once again significantly higher than for the entire study group. The other results of the study will be published in the "European Journal of Epidemiology". (Sb)

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Image: Jörg Siebauer, Pixelio.de.