Smoking ups insulin resistance risk

Long-term smokers are at an increased risk of insulin resistance, underlining the importance of smoking cessation efforts, a recent Korea study has found. First-time smokers need to be made aware of the harms of smoking beyond addiction and respiratory problems, the researchers advised.

Data from 4,043 participants were drawn from the 2016–2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were grouped according to sex and short-term smoking patterns, defined through half-life values of cotinine (18–24 hours) and NNAL* (40 days). Insulin resistance was assessed using the TyG index.

Among male participants (n=2,067; 51.1 percent), most were continuous smokers (40.6 percent; n=839), defined as satisfying both cotinine and NNAL criteria. Meanwhile, 22.0 percent satisfied only NNAL, indicating past smoking, and 0.6 percent met only the cotinine criteria and were defined as current smokers. The remaining 36.9 percent of men (n=762) were nonsmokers.

Among women, the prevalence of continuous, past, and current smoking was 10.2 percent, 22.9 percent, and 1.1 percent, respectively; majority (65.8 percent) were nonsmokers.

Regression analysis found that men who were continuous smokers (odds ratio [OR], 1.74, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.27–2.38) and past smokers (OR, 1.47, 95 percent CI, 1.03–2.09) saw a significantly higher risk of insulin resistance. The same was true for women (current smoking: OR, 2.01, 95 percent CI, 1.33–3.03; past smoking: OR, 1.37, 95 percent CI, 1.00–1.87).

*4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone