This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Metabolic control poorer in smokers than nonsmokers
In adults with type 1 diabetes, lipid profiles may be more unfavorable and HbA1c levels may be higher in smokers compared with nonsmokers, according to study findings.
Sabine E. Hofer, MD, PhD, of the department of pediatrics, Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria, and colleagues evaluated data from the T1D Exchange Registry in the United States and the Prospective Diabetes Follow-up Registry in Germany and Austria on 20,405 adults with type 1 diabetes (duration 1 year) to determine the association between smoking status and metabolic outcomes.
Participants were defined as smokers if they smoked at least one cigarette per day; former smokers reported smoking in the past, and never smokers never smoked.
More participants from the Prospective Diabetes Follow-up Registry than from the T1D Exchange Registry were smokers (24.3% vs. 10%; P < .001), and fewer were former smokers (5.1% vs. 18.1%; P < .001) and never smokers (70.6% vs.72%; P < .001).
After adjustment for age group, sex, type 1 diabetes duration and migration background/not non-Hispanic white, smokers had significantly higher HbA1c levels (8.5%) compared with nonsmokers (7.9%; P < .001).
After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes duration, BMI and lipid-lowering medication, smokers were more likely to have an unfavorable lipid profile with higher triglycerides (P < .0001) and higher LDL levels (P < .0001) compared with nonsmokers.
“Our data clearly show higher HbA1c and additional unfavorable lipid profiles in patients with [type 1 diabetes] who smoke,” the researchers wrote. “The proportion of smokers was significantly higher in [the Prospective Diabetes Follow-up Registry], peaking at 35% in 26- to 50-year-olds. We observed a significantly higher number of former smokers in the [United States], implying that interventions to reduce tobacco consumption and smoke-free policies have been more successful in the [United States] compared with Europe.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.