Daijiworld Media Network – Italy
Italy, Sep 15: India already faces a surging type-2 diabetes (T2D) crisis, with over 100 million people affected and numbers still climbing. Now, new research presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2025 reveals that smoking sharply raises the risk of every major T2D subtype—from insulin-resistant to insulin-deficient forms—sending a clear warning to a country where tobacco use remains widespread.
Key findings
Scientists from Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) tracked 3,325 diabetes patients across two long-term Nordic studies (Norway’s HUNT and Sweden’s ESTRID). They classified cases into four subtypes:
• SIRD (Severe Insulin-Resistant Diabetes)
• SIDD (Severe Insulin-Deficient Diabetes)
• MOD (Mild Obesity-Related Diabetes)
• MARD (Mild Age-Related Diabetes)
Compared to never-smokers, ever-smokers faced significantly higher risk across all four groups:
• SIRD: ~2.15-fold increase
• SIDD: ~20% higher
• MOD: ~29% higher
• MARD: ~27% higher
Heavy smokers (≈15 pack-years) were even worse off: SIRD risk jumped 2.35-fold, while SIDD, MOD and MARD risks climbed 45–57%. Genetics compounded the threat—heavy smokers with high genetic risk for poor insulin secretion had 3.5-times the SIRD risk.
Implications for India
Researchers stress that tobacco in any form—cigarettes, bidis, or smokeless products like gutkha—can magnify diabetes risk. With India’s strong genetic predisposition and high tobacco use, smoking cessation emerges as a critical diabetes-prevention strategy, not just a cancer or heart-disease safeguard.
Action points
• Quit now: Seek counselling or nicotine-replacement therapy.
• Ditch smokeless tobacco: Products like khaini or gutkha are not safe alternatives.
• Screen early: Regular fasting glucose and HbA1c tests, especially if family history exists.
• Adopt healthy habits: Balanced diet, exercise, and weight control help offset genetic risk.
The study delivers a clear message: tobacco drives every subtype of type-2 diabetes, with the most severe insulin-resistant form hit hardest. For India, cutting tobacco use is no longer just an anti-cancer measure—it’s central to curbing the nation’s diabetes epidemic.