THE EFFECTS OF CIGARETTE SMOKING ON GLYCOSYLATED HEMOGLOBIN (Hb A1C) IN NON-DIABETIC INDIVIDUALS

Cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb A1c) is a marker of long-term glucose homeostasis reflecting an average blood glucose concentration in past 2-3 months. The effect of cigarette smoking on average blood glucose levels as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin have yet received little attention. Aim and Objective: This study was done to assess the effect of smoking on blood glucose concentration by comparing glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb A1c) between non-diabetic cigarette smokers and non-smokers. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional case control study involving 60 participants with case group consists of 30 non-obese, non-diabetic males of age group between 20-40 years who smoke 10 filter cigarettes per day or more for not less than 5 years. 30 healthy age matched non-obese males who do not smoke cigarette were recruited for control group. After an overnight fast of 12 hours the serum glucose concentration and the glycosylated hemoglobin levels were estimated in all subjects and the values were compared between the cases and control using students ‘t’ test. Results: There is no significant increase in the fasting serum glucose levels between the cases 100.2±12.37 and the controls 103.1±9.64. There is a significant increase in the glycosylated hemoglobin level in smokers 5.48±0.83 when compared with the non-smokers 4.56±0.34 with p-value < 0.001. Conclusion: The results from the present study suggest that the level of glycosylated hemoglobin is increased in the non-diabetic smokers when compared to the non-smokers.