Type 2 diabetes

Compared to people without the condition, people with diabetes are at increased risk from vascular diseases – including heart attack and stroke. This risk is further increased in people with diabetes who smoke; smokers with the condition should be advised by their health carers to stop smoking as a matter of urgency. But giving up the habit is not easy. Successful cessation requires people to surmount a number of difficulties, including strong physical, psychological and behavioural

Treatment with the newly developed drug rimonabant has been found to help to reduce body weight and improve cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. It has also been shown to help smokers to stop using tobacco without the weight gain often associated with cessation. Beat Lutz reports on the recently discovered body system that links obesity, metabolic disorders and smoking, and the potential of rimonabant as a therapeutic option to tackle these multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

The disease process that leads to the development of type 2 diabetes may start in the womb at the very beginning of life. Fetal growth and birth weight are predictive of diabetes risk in later years. This suggests that the factors that influence the rate of fetal growth – and therefore birth weight – may also activate the process that leads to type 2 diabetes in adult life. It is well known that smoking during

Cigarette smoking is a serious hazard to health. Yet, although as a group people with diabetes are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, this does not appear to influence smoking habits among them. Tobacco use among people with diabetes is strongly associated with a further increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular complications. Furthermore, research has indicated that smoking has negative effects on the metabolism of glucose and lipids (fat), leading

In the oil-exporting Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – the economic growth and development of the past three decades have been dramatic. This socio-economic progress has brought benefits to many people in the region, such as improved access to health care, education, and safe drinking water. However, economic development has set the scene for the

In both human and economic terms, diabetes is becoming one of the most serious and costly health conditions worldwide. Economic development, bringing changes from a traditional to a modernized lifestyle, is driving a huge increase in the number of people with obesity-related type 2 diabetes in China. The extraordinary size of the problem is worrying; if current trends continue, diabetes will become a massive health burden in China. In this article, Changyu Pan looks at the status of diabetes care in China and highlights the need for regional and national initiatives to

Smoking among people with diabetes parallels that of the general population. However, compared to non-smokers with diabetes, people with diabetes who smoke have twice the risk of premature death. The risk of complications associated with tobacco use and diabetes in combination are nearly 14 times higher than the risk

It is well known that tobacco smoke is harmful to health and is of particular danger to people with diabetes. All of the chronic complications of diabetes – such as cardiovascular disease, foot problems, kidney disease, and eye damage – are exacerbated by breathing in tobacco smoke. Recently, it was suggested that smoking may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Although the exact mechanisms are not yet fully understood, it has been suggested that impaired sensitivity to the action of insulin in people who smoke tobacco could be linked to

People who smoke tobacco are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Tobacco use contributes to the risk of all the major types of cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attack, stroke and the blockage of blood vessels in the lower limbs. People with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, are also at high risk for

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