DIABETES-MELLITUS AND CIGARETTE-SMOKING - FINDINGS FROM THE 1989 NATIONAL-HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY

OBJECTIVE - To compare the prevalence of current smoking in the U.S. d iabetic population with that of the nondiabetic population. RESEARCH D ESIGN AND METHODS - Using data from the 1989 National Health Interview Survey - a nationally representative sample - we calculated the preva lence of current smoking for 2,405 people with self-reported diabetes and 20,131 people without this condition. RESULTS - Overall, the age-a djusted prevalence of smoking was 27.3% among people with diabetes and 25.9% among people without diabetes. The prevalence of smoking did no t differ significantly between participants with and without diabetes when they were stratified by age, sex, race, or education. Black and H ispanic men with diabetes had a higher prevalence of smoking than did white men with diabetes and black and Hispanic men without diabetes, b ut none of these differences were statistically significant. Among peo ple with diabetes, age, race, sex, and educational status were indepen dent predictors of current smoking in a multiple-logistic regression m odel. Duration of diabetes was not related to smoking. CONCLUSIONS - T hese data again emphasize the need to prevent and reduce smoking in th e diabetic population. Smoking cessation programs should particularly target people with diabetes who are less than or equal to 44 years of age. Black and Hispanic men are also prime targets for intervention ef forts.