- With Mayo Clinic endocrinologist
Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.
Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.
Dr. Maria Collazo-Clavell is board certified in internal medicine, endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. She is a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism & Nutrition at Mayo Clinic and an assistant professor at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
The Aibonito, Puerto Rico, native has been with Mayo Clinic since 1994.
She is a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American College of Endocrinology, the American Diabetes Association and The Endocrine Society.
Dr. Collazo-Clavell is medical editor for the Web site's diabetes content and the book "Mayo Clinic on Managing Diabetes." Her clinical interests include management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, obesity and nutritional disorders.
Risk factors (1)
- Diabetes: Does alcohol and tobacco use increase my risk?
Symptoms (1)
- The 'dawn phenomenon': What causes it?
Causes (1)
- Diabetes and depression: What's the link?
Complications (2)
- Diabetes: How does it affect my liver?
- Blood sugar and mood: Any connection?
Treatments and drugs (2)
- Diabetes management: Does aspirin therapy prevent heart problems?
- Byetta: Can diabetes drug also help me lose weight?
Lifestyle and home remedies (10)
- Vegetarian diet: Can it help me control my diabetes?
- Diabetes: Are electric blankets off-limits?
- Glucosamine: Does it affect blood sugar?
- see all in Lifestyle and home remedies
Alternative medicine (1)
- Diabetes treatment: Can cinnamon lower blood sugar?
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Question
Diabetes: Does alcohol and tobacco use increase my risk?
Does alcohol and tobacco use increase the risk of diabetes?
Answer
from Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.
Yes, alcohol and tobacco use increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
While studies show that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol (one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) may actually lower the risk of diabetes, the opposite is true for people who drink greater amounts of alcohol. Heavy alcohol use can cause chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which can impair its ability to secrete insulin and ultimately lead to diabetes.
Tobacco is equally harmful. Tobacco use can increase blood sugar levels and lead to insulin resistance. And the more you smoke, the greater your risk of diabetes. Heavy smokers — those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day — almost double their risk of developing diabetes, when compared with nonsmokers.
Next questionThe 'dawn phenomenon': What causes it?
- Pancreatitis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pancreatitis/. Accessed March 18, 2009.
- Mukamal K. Overview of the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 18, 2009.
- Willi C, et al. Active smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007;298:1654.
- Chiolero A, et al. Consequences of smoking for body weight, body fat distribution, and insulin resistance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2008;87:801.
- Manson JE, et al: A prospective study of cigarette smoking and the incidence of diabetes mellitus among U.S. male physicians. American Journal of Medicine. 2000;109:538.
