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The following is a summary of “Did smoking behavior change in adolescents and young adults with and without diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic? A cohort study from the DPV registry,” published in the March 2025 issue of BMC Pediatrics by Warncke et al. 

Smoking raises cardiovascular risk and worsens COVID-19; this study compared smoking in young people with diabetes and the general population. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study comparing smoking habits in young people with diabetes and the general population.  

They analyzed smoking behavior in the DPV cohort (T1D, T2D: Germany; T1D: Austria) aged 14–24 years, comparing it to DEBRA survey data. Data were aggregated per year and patient (2016–2023) with logistic regression models adjusted for gender and migration background, stratified by age (14–17; 18–24 years), considering repeated measurements. Smoking behavior between T1D and T2D or between Germany and Austria was compared using similar regression models. 

The results showed that 34,275 DPV patients were analyzed. Smoking was lower in DPV than in the general population (13.4% vs. 24.0%), except for young adults with T2D at the start of the pandemic (36.7% vs. 33.4%). For T1D, smoking increased in ages 14–17 (2.86% per year, CI 1.21–4.55, P < 0.001) and 18–24 (4.94% per year, CI 1.37–8.63, P < 0.01) from 2016–2023. Smoking was higher in Austria than Germany (10.7% vs. 8.0%; OR 1.38 [1.22–1.56], P < 0.001) and in T2D than T1D (11.0% vs. 7.9%; OR 1.44 [1.23–1.68], P < 0.001). Cigarettes/day were higher in Austria (7.5 [6.8– 8.1] vs. 5.9 [5.7–6.0], P < 0.001) and in T2D than T1D (8.0 [7.2–8.8] vs. 5.9 [5.7–6.1], P < 0.001). 

Investigators found that smoking was lower in young people with diabetes than in the general population, except for young adults with T2D, who smoked more at the start of the pandemic, possibly due to stress and lifestyle changes. 

Source: bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-025-05434-w