Smoking Marijuana Increases Risk For Developing Pre-diabetes, Study Finds

According to a new study, people who smoke marijuana are at increased risk for developing pre-diabetes when compared to people who don't smoke it, Daily Mail reported.

The research revealed that consuming marijuana as little as 100 times in a lifetime may increase one's risk of having abnormally high blood sugar, an indicator of having pre-diabetes.

During the study, scientists looked into data collected from 3,000 Americans and discovered that marijuana consumption more than 100 times may leave you 50 percent more prone to developing pre-diabetes.

Pre-diabetes is described as abnormally high blood sugar, but not high enough to indicate established diabetes. It is estimated that 10 percent of pre-diabetics end up developing full-blown diabetes in the future.

The researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where the study was conducted, said that the risk of developing pre-diabetes is not linked to the individual's size or weight as it would be the case for non-smokers.

Mike Bancks, one of the authors of the study, said: ''Marijuana use, by status or lifetime frequency, was not associated with incidence or presence of diabetes after adjustment for potential confounding factors. However, marijuana use was associated with the development and prevalence of pre-diabetes after adjustment. Specifically, occurrence of pre-diabetes in the middle adulthood was significantly elevated for the individuals who reported using marijuana in excess of 100 times by young adulthood,'' Daily Mail reported.

Bancks also added that the results of the study contradicts with the long-held belief that marijuana consumption decreases risk for developing diabetes. The study was published in the Diabetologia journal.