Heavy Smokers with Diabetes Have Increased All-Cause Mortality Risk

Researchers studying data from the US National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) found that heavy smokers with diabetes are not only at risk from lung cancer, but in addition, have a higher risk of death from other causes.

The results were presented at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA2016) meeting in Chicago, USA. The NLST is a very large-scale, multicenter trial for early detection of lung cancer in heavy smokers that compares low-dose helical Computed Tomography (CT) with chest X-Rays.

The researchers studied data from 53,454 NLST participants and found 5,174 people that had diabetes at the time of screening. The researchers analyzed the relative risk for overall mortality, the risk of death from lung cancer, and non-lung cancer mortality associated with diabetes.

The results of the study showed that among heavy smokers, diabetes doubles the risk for all-cause mortality, as well as non-lung cancer mortality. The results also showed an increased risk of death from lung cancer among female smokers who also suffered from diabetes.

Kavita Garg, MD, professor of radiology, University of Colorado (Denver, CO, USA), said, "In our study, we found a statistically significant link between diabetes and all-cause deaths, non-lung cancer deaths and lung cancer deaths in women. We found that diabetes doubles the risk for all-cause mortality and non-lung cancer mortality among heavy smokers. We also found that women with diabetes have an increased risk of lung-cancer mortality, but did not find the same effect in men. Patients have to take care of their diabetes to maximize the benefit of CT screening for lung cancer. It truly makes a magnitude of difference in mortality risk."

Related Links:
University of Colorado