Smokers and people exposed to secondhand smoke are at elevated risk of developing glucose intolerance, which can lead to diabetes, Xinhua reported April 7.

Researchers at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Alabama estimated the risk of developing glucose intolerance as 22 percent for smokers, 17 percent for nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke, and 12 percent among nonsmokers not exposed to secondhand smoke. Former smokers had a 14-percent risk.

The study involved more than 4000 men and women. The researchers said the secondhand-smoke risk for diabetes was a new finding.

The research was published online in the April 7, 2006 issue of the British Medical Journal.