Smoking can make diabetes complications worse: study

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Type 2 diabetes patients who smoke are at high risk of developing illnesses that can make their condition worse.

A new study published in the journal Circulation accounts the many dangers of smoking among type 2 diabetics. The study revealed that type 2 diabetes patients who smoke have increased chances of developing heart disease, stroke and early death compared to those who do not smoke. Additionally, diabetics who smoke also are less likely to have clogged arteries that can lead to heart failure and reduced blood flow especially to the limbs.

According to Tech Times, over a fifth of type 2 diabetics are smokers. However, the unwanted complications can be avoided if they quit the filthy habit.

"Smoking cessation still remains a major target for patients who smoke," said researcher An Pan from China's Huazhong University of Science and Technology, according to the outlet. "We also found that former smokers had substantially reduced risks compared with current smokers, although not totally returned to the risk of never smokers, suggesting that quitting smoking is beneficial in the long run for diabetic patients."

For the study, Pan and colleagues wanted to find out if quitting smoking would significantly be better for diabetic patients.

"We wanted to know whether smoking was related to total mortality and cardiovascular events among diabetic patients, and whether smoking cessation would reduce the risks," Pan said in the report by Fox News.

The researchers analyzed nearly 90 former studies on type 2 diabetic adults who smoked. They found that smokers have a 1.5 increased chance of developing clogged arteries, heart disease, stroke and heart failure. Additionally, they also experienced reduce blood flow to the limbs and peripheral artery disease.

On the other hand, diabetics who have quit smoking only had 1.2 times the chance of getting clogged arteries and only 1.1 times risk of heart disease when compared to diabetics who never smoked.

According to the researchers, tobacco smoking is the cause of 14.6 deaths in men and 3.3 percent deaths in women who had diabetes around the world.

In an e-mail to Reuters, Pan explained that some smokers do not see the point of quitting because they fear gaining weight. However, he explained that the more long-term benefits are more important than the side effects that may only take a short while. Pan highly recommends diabetics to stop smoking.

"If you are a patient suffering from diabetes and smoking cigarettes, or if you know a family member, friend or anyone else who is diabetic and smoking, there is still opportunity to substantially decrease further complications and suffering or even early death by quitting smoking," said Dr. Wael Al-Delaimy from the University of California.