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Researchers have shown that smokers who have type 2 diabetes have a greater chance of developing complications such as heart failure, strokes, clogged arteries, heart disease, a reduction in blood flow to their limbs, as well as premature death.
However, you can diminish your risk by quitting your vice. Researchers from Huazhong University have noticed that diabetics who stopped smoking were still more likely to develop complications than diabetics who had never been in the habit of smoking, but they were also less likely to develop complications than diabetics who did not stop smoking.
An Pan, professor with the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China) and study lead author, offered a statement to Reuters Health explaining that a lot of type 2 diabetes patients still continue to smoke even after being diagnosed with the condition.
It’s precisely because of this that he “wanted to know whether smoking was related to total mortality and cardiovascular events among diabetic patients, and whether smoking cessation would reduce the risks”.
CDC researchers have confirmed that smoking is still a large issue among patients who have type 2 diabetes. Many of them refuse to quit, and this in turn makes them more vulnerable to experiencing kidney disease, heart disease, nerve damage, and even blindness.
For the their project, professor Pan and his team examined information featured in 89 earlier studies. The data related to the smoking habits of diabetics, and to the danger that these habits put them in.
The results showed that smokers with type 2 diabetes were 1.5 times more vulnerable to suffering from heart failure, heart disease, strokes and clogged arteries, compared to non-smokers with type 2 diabetes. Also, they were 2 times more vulnerable to suffering from a reduction in blood flow to their limbs and from peripheral artery disease.
Ex-smokers with type 2 diabetes were 1.2 times more vulnerable to suffering from clogged arteries, as well as 1.1 times more vulnerable to suffering from overall heart disease.
When looking at these values, along with the global rates of deaths linked to diabetes, professor Pan and his team credited smoking for 14.6 percent (14.6%) of all deaths among diabetic men, and for 3.3 percent (3.3%) of all deaths among diabetic women.
Dr. Wael Al-Delaimy, University of California’s division chief of global health (San Diego), offered a statement of his own to Reuters Health explaining that some of the type 2 diabetes patients may not necessarily get all the care they need from their physicians.
The problem is that “The physician caring for the diabetes patient might be focusing on cardiovascular risk factors or diabetes complications and diet and weight control”, and they may forget to talk to the diabetic about smoking and other similar risk factors.
But type 2 diabetes patients aren’t innocent either, as a lot of them don’t want to consider quitting their vice because they’re afraid that this will make them gain weight that they will then fail to lose. It’s important to stress to these patients that the long term benefits of quitting outweigh the side effects.
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