Type 2 Diabetes Risk Increased With Smokeless Tobacco

HealthDay News – Consumption of Swedish smokeless tobacco (snus) is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Sofia Carlsson, PhD, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues used pooled data from 5 cohorts to examine the correlation between snus use and risk of type 2 diabetes. Data were included from 54,531 never-smoking men and 2441 incident cases of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found the hazard ratio (HR) for type 2 diabetes to be 1.15 (95% CI, 1.00-1.32) in current snus users compared with never users. The HRs were 1.42 (95% CI, 1.07-1.87) and 1.68 (95% CI, 1.17-2.41), respectively, for individuals consuming 5 to 6 and 7 or more boxes per week. The HR was 1.08 (95% CI, 1.01-1.16) for each additional box of snus consumed per week.

“Our findings indicate that high consumption of snus is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The risk was similar to that in smokers, implying that smokers will not reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by changing to snus use,” the authors wrote. “The results also support the notion that nicotine increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.”

Reference

Carlsson S, Andersson T, Araghi M, et al. Smokeless toabacco (snus) is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes: results from 5 pooled cohorts [published online February 6, 2017]. J Intern Med. doi: 10.1111/joim.12592