Why the study?
Does cigarette smoking increase the risk of retinopathy and proteinuria in subjects with diabetes?
Does cigarette smoking increase the risk of retinopathy and proteinuria in subjects with diabetes?
This study found no significant association between cigarette smoking and the risk of diabetic microangiopathy (retinopathy and proteinuria) after adjusting for confounders.
Null association after adjustment does not support smoking as microangiopathy risk factor; challenges smaller prior studies and leaves open residual confounding.
The relationship between cigarette smoking and retinopathy and proteinuria was examined in a group of 973 subjects with diabetes. Other variables known to influence the risk of microangiopathy were also measured in a standardized fashion (e.g., duration of diabetes, blood glucose, blood pressure). The characteristics of smokers and nonsmokers were studied in detail. It was therefore possible to take into account the effects of confounding variables on the relationship between smoking and risk of microangiopathy. Associations between smoking and risk of microangiopathies, previously reported in some of the smaller studies, were not confirmed in this larger study.
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West et al. (1980) studied this question.
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