Association Between Incident Type 2 Diabetes and Opium Use: Mediation by Body Mass and Adiposity Publisher Pubmed

Summary: Long-term opium use appears to lower type 2 diabetes incidence, perhaps due to lower BMI. Could opiate consumption offer unexpected health benefits? #DiabetesResearch #PublicHealth

Nalini M^{1, 2} ; Poustchi H³ ; Roshandel G⁴ ; Kamangar F⁵ ; Khoshnia M⁴ ; Gharavi A⁴ ; Brennan P⁶ ; Boffetta P^{7, 8} ; Dawsey SM¹ ; Abnet CC¹ ; Malekzadeh R² ; Etemadi A^{1, 2}
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology Published:2023

Abstract

Opiates can affect glucose metabolism and obesity, but no large prospective study (to our knowledge) has investigated the association between long-term opium use, body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)2), and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We analyzed prospective data from 50,045 Golestan Cohort Study participants in Iran (enrollment: 2004-2008). After excluding participants with preexisting diseases, including diabetes, we used adjusted Poisson regression models to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for T2DM in opium users compared with nonusers, using mediation analysis to assess the BMI-mediated association of opium use with incident T2DM. Of 40,083 included participants (mean age = 51.4 (standard deviation, 8.8) years; 56% female), 16% were opium users (median duration of use, 10 (interquartile range), 4-20) years). During follow-up (until January 2020), 5,342 incident T2DM cases were recorded, including 8.5% of opium users and 14.2% of nonusers. Opium use was associated with an overall decrease in incident T2DM (IRR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.92), with a significant dose-response association. Most (84.3%) of this association was mediated by low BMI or waist circumference, and opium use did not have a direct association with incident T2DM (IRR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.87, 1.08). Long-term opium use was associated with lower incidence of T2DM, which was mediated by low body mass and adiposity. © 2023 Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.