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World Diabetes Day, which is held on November 14, is an opportunity to discuss the state of health of people with diabetes, but also to update a little-known link: that between smoking and diabetes. Indeed, several epidemiological studies demonstrate the link between the onset or aggravation of diabetes for smokers.
According to Public Health France, nearly 3.5 million French people were treated for diabetes in 2020, i.e. just over 5% of the French population. The third edition of the Entred study (for “National representative representative sample of people with diabetes”) makes it possible to draw up a state of health for these patients.
Diabetic patients often have risk factors for complications
Conducted in 2019, the study offered a self-administered health questionnaire to more than 9,000 adults treated pharmacologically for type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The data was then analyzed in order to draw results. .
According to the results, “disparate situations” are observable between people affected by type 1 or type 2 diabetes. treated hypertension and dyslipidemia).
A direct link between diabetes and smoking
Among these risk factors, there is one whose impact on diabetes is under-emphasized: smoking.
Several epidemiological studies show a clear link between smoking, whether active or passive, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The authors of the study published in the weekly epidemiological bulletin of November 8, recall: “tobacco also contributes to glycemic imbalance and promotes gestational diabetes”.
And once diabetes has declared, tobacco remains to be avoided: “smoking increases the risk of macro- and micro-angiopathic complications, such as nephropathy in type 2 diabetic patients and retinopathy/neuropathy in type 1 diabetic patients“.
In addition to each being a public health problem, smoking and diabetes”are therefore part of the field of chronic diseases, reduce life expectancy and evolve in an epidemic manner” according to the BEH.
Thus, preventing tobacco and promoting its cessation among diabetics represent two essential priorities, both for the French-speaking tobacco company (SFT) and the French-speaking diabetes society (SFD), which consider that there is “a major benefit in discouraging all tobacco consumption in patients at risk of diabetes or in helping them to wean themselves off if they are already diabetics and smokers”.