Smoking and glycaemic control in male insulin dependent (type 1) diabetics

To test if cigarette smoking influences the quality of glycaemic control 98 consecutive male patients suffering from insulin dependent diabetes with onset of the disease before 30 yr of age and more than 5 yr duration of the disease were interviewed about their actual tobacco consumption, and their concentrations of haemoglobulin A1c were determined. Forty-seven patients smoked cigarettes, the rest (51) were regarded as non-smokers. Age, duration of diabetes, relative body weight, and insulin-requirement were similar in the 2 groups. No significant difference in glycaemic control as judged from the level of stable haemoglobin A1c was found (smokers 8.8%-range 6.5-11.4, and non-smokers 8.4%-range 6.4-11.6). Thus the measurement of haemoglobin A1c levels revealed no difference in glycaemic control according to smoking habits in insulin dependent diabetics.