To examine the relationship between the duration of smoking cessation and incident diabetic microvascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Approach:
Study Design: A retrospective cohort study using the National Health Insurance Service database in Korea, focusing on adults aged 40 years or older diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from 2003 to 2013.
Participant Selection: Participants were included based on consistent smoking status across repeated health checkups, with specific categories for never smokers, quitters, and continuous smokers.
Data Collection: Smoking status was assessed through self-administered questionnaires during national health checkups, and incident diabetic microvascular complications were identified using diagnostic codes.
Cessation Duration: For sustained quitters, cessation duration was categorized into intervals from less than 2 years to 8 years or more.
Key Findings:
Cigarette smoking increases the risk of diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy.
Limitations:
The study relies on retrospective data, which may introduce biases.
Informed consent was waived due to the use of anonymized data.
