Cigarette Smoking Is Associated with Conversion from Normoglycemia to Impaired Fasting Glucose: The Western New York Health Study

PurposeTo determine whether cigarette smoking is associated with the conversion from normoglycemia to impaired fasting glucose (IFG).MethodsDuring the years 2003 and 2004, 1,455 participants (mean age, 56.5 years; range, 35–79 years) from the Western New York Health Study who were free of type 2 diabetes and known cardiovascular disease at baseline (1996–2001) were reexamined (68% response rate). Incident IFG was defined as a subject whose baseline fasting plasma glucose was <100 mg/dL (normoglycemic) and between 100 and 125 mg/dL at follow-up. Prevalent IFG (n = 528) was excluded. Baseline smoking status was categorized as never, former, or current.ResultsOf the 1,455 participants, 924 were normoglycemic at baseline: 101/924 converted to IFG over 6 years. Compared with those who remained normoglycemic, converters to IFG were at baseline older, had a larger body mass index, more likely to be hypertensive, currently smoke, and have a family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (all p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that compared with subjects who remained normoglycemic, the odds ratio of incident IFG among former and current smokers (vs. never) was 1.68 (95% confidence interval: 0.99–2.80) and 2.35 (95% confidence interval: 1.17–4.72) (p trend = 0.008), respectively.ConclusionSmoking was positively associated with incident IFG after accounting for several putative risk factors.