Date published: 2007/12/12
The BBC says:
Smoking is linked to a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, US research suggests.
The University of Lausanne looked at 25 studies involving 1.2m patients.
They found smokers had a 44% increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with non-smokers - with the risk rising with the number of cigarettes smoked.
The Journal of the American Medical Association study found the increased risk for those who smoked at least 20 cigarettes a day rose to 61%.
For lighter smokers the risk was 29% higher than for a non-smoker.
The increased risk of developing diabetes in former smokers was 23%.
The researchers said: "We conclude that the relevant question should no longer be whether this association exists, but rather whether this established connection is causal."
...
Previous research has linked smoking to insulin resistance - a condition which often leads to diabetes.However, proving a link is very difficult because smokers tend to indulge in other unhealthy habits, such as not exercising enough and eating unhealthy foods.
Unbelievable, a health story on the BBC where it is mentioned (far down the story, mind you) that there is a difference between correlation and causation. Of course this is not because BBC journalists have suddenly woken up, it's because the scientists behind this study were honest and clued up.
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