Smoking Cessation and the Risk of Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Fasting Glucose: Three-Year Outcomes after a Quit Attempt

Weight gain after smoking cessation may increase diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) risk. This study evaluated associations between smoking cessation and continued smoking with incident diabetes and IFG three years after a quit attempt. The 1504 smokers (58% female) were mean (standard deviation) 44.7 (11.1) years old and smoked 21.4 (8.9) cigarettes/day. Of 914 participants with year 3 data, the 238 abstainers had greater weight gain, increase in waist circumference, and increase in fasting glucose levels than the 676 continuing smokers (p≤0.008). In univariate analyses, Year 3 abstinence was associated with incident diabetes (OR = 2.60, 95% CI 1.44–4.67, p = .002; 4.3% absolute excess) and IFG (OR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.74–3.41, pTrial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT00332644