SMOKING CESSATION IMPROVES INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN HEALTHY MIDDLE-AGEDMEN

Cigarette smokers have recently been shown to exhibit insulin resistan ce, dyslipidaemia and markers of the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) . The aim of this study was to examine the effects of smoking cessatio n on insulin sensitivity and IRS. Forty male, non-obese healthy smoker s participated in this open parallel study with 8 weeks of follow-up. Seventeen subjects were able to stop smoking, while 23 subjects contin ued to smoke and served as a controls group. Anthropometric and metabo lic data were measured. Degree of insulin sensitivity was determined w ith the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp technique. Smoking cessati on increased insulin sensitivity and improved the lipoprotein profile in spite of a modest increase in body weight. Initial smoking habits c orrelated positively with the increase in BMI as well as the improveme nts in the metabolic variables after smoking cessation. These data sup port the view that smoking causes insulin resistance and IRS, and also demonstrate that the beneficial metabolic effects of smoking cessatio n override the effects of an accompanying modest increase in body weig ht.