Lung Health Basics - Secondhand smoke can increase your risk of diabetes.

Secondhand smoke can increase your risk of diabetes.

While it has long been known that smoking increases one's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered for the first time that secondhand smoke may also have an influence on the development of diabetes. Following over 4,500 men and women from four U.S. cities over 15 years, researchers monitored participants for signs of glucose intolerance, an early sign of diabetes. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, showed that 22 percent of smokers developed glucose intolerance, compared to only 12 percent of non-smokers with no exposure to secondhand smoke. Most notably, while 14 percent of smokers who quit developed glucose intolerance, 17 percent of non-smokers who were exposed to secondhand smoke developed this early sign of diabetes. The authors explain that the toxins contained in secondhand smoke may be different, and even more potent, than the toxins inhaled by smokers, but further studies are needed to determine exactly how these toxins cause glucose intolerance.

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