The nicotine in cigarette smoke may promote insulin resistance and lead to a condition known as prediabetes, new research shows. The finding, to be outlined Thursday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., could explain why smokers are at higher risk for diabetes. The same team of researchers was able to partially reverse nicotine's effect on insulin in mice by giving the rodents the nicotine-blunting drug mecamylamine.
In a society news release, study author Dr. Theodore Friedman, chief of the division of endocrinology, metabolism and molecular medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, noted that smokers tend to face a higher diabetes risk, even though "smoking causes weight loss, which should protect against heart disease."
But prior studies have shown smokers to be more insulin-resistant, which leads to higher blood-sugar levels. Some studies had suggested that the key factor at work was nicotine's effect on the stress hormone cortisol, since, as Friedman said, "cortisol excess is known to induce insulin resistance."...more
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