Smoking Increases Risk for Diabetic Nephropathy

Smoking increases the risk for diabetic nephropathy among patients with diabetes, according to a recent study.

Previous studies have evaluated the potential relationship between smoking and diabetic nephropathy. However, the results of these studies have varied widely.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Oral Corticosteroids Increase Risk of Adverse Events in Patients With IgA Nephropathy
Type 1 Diabetes Onset in Childhood Raises Risk for Kidney Disease Later in Life
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

For their study, the researchers assessed data from 21 studies published from inception to March 2016 via PubMed and EMBASE databases. Data was independently extracted by 2 authors.

The researchers tested the homogeneity of the effect size across studies. A random-effect model was used to determine odds ratios (ORs), and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to reduce heterogeneity. Publication biases were taken into account.

Ultimately, the researchers found that smoking is significantly associated with the risk for diabetic nephropathy. Demographic characteristics were similar between patients with diabetic nephropathy and patients with non-diabetic nephropathy. Additionally, the researchers observed significant heterogeneity across studies, except among diabetes controls.

The aggregate OR of smoking among patients with diabetic nephropathy vs those with non-diabetic nephropathy was 1.70. The researchers found no evidence of publication bias.

“Our findings indicate that smoking is a significant risk factor for diabetic nephropathy in diabetic patients,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Su S, Wang W, Sun T, et al. Smoking as a risk factor for diabetic nephropathy: a meta-analysis. Int Urol Nephrol. 2017;49(10):1801-1807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-017-1638-3.