"In an era when e-cigarettes are marketed as a 'safer' alternative to smoking, this suggests they may carry a hidden peril and may be quietly contributing to long-term health problems like prediabetes and diabetes," said Sulakshan Neupane, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "As the use of e-cigarettes rises rapidly, it's vital we understand their broader health impacts. This is not just about the lungs anymore but the entire body and metabolic health."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that vaping continues to grow in popularity, especially among younger people. The study's results indicate that diabetes rates may also rise within these groups as e-cigarette use expands.

Researchers also reported that the likelihood of developing diabetes or prediabetes is even higher for Hispanic and Black individuals living in economically disadvantaged settings, along with people who already have underlying health problems.

Dual Users Face Sharp Increases in Prediabetes

Utilizing more than 1.2 million responses from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, the research team examined how e-cigarette use and traditional smoking relate to prediabetes and diabetes diagnoses.

The analysis showed that vaping alone was linked to a 7% increase in prediabetes risk. The researchers suggested that e-cigarette use may temporarily impair insulin function and contribute to weight gain, both of which are tied to prediabetes.

While 7% may seem modest, it represents roughly 7,000 additional prediabetes cases each year in the U.S based on current population trends.

The study also found that smoking cigarettes or cigars increased prediabetes risk by 15%. The risk climbed even higher for people who both smoked and vaped, reaching 28%.

Individuals who used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes were also more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes itself, with risks rising by 7 and 9% respectively.

"E-cigarette use alone elevates the likelihood of prediabetes, with dual use conferring an additional risk. This study highlights potential compounding harm from using both product types," said Neupane.

Weight, Income and Demographics Influence Risk Levels

The researchers observed that certain personal and demographic factors further intensified the likelihood of developing prediabetes or diabetes.

People who were overweight or obese and smoked were especially vulnerable, as e-cigarette users with a higher body mass index had worse outcomes than those at a normal weight. Hispanic, Black and Asian individuals who smoked or vaped were more frequently diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes compared with white individuals.

Lower income was another major contributor. Those in the lowest income groups had a 12% higher risk of both conditions.

"People who aren't earning enough money experience mental stress and tend to smoke or use alcohol to reduce that stress, which leads to these increased risk factors," Neupane said.

Regular physical activity, however, provided some protection. Exercise reduced prediabetes risk for smokers by 8%, offering a potential way to counter some of the harmful effects.

"These findings have important implications for public health efforts to curb smoking and improve diabetes outcomes," said Neupane.

The study was published in AJPM Focus. Co-authors included Agricultural and Applied Economics Professor Wojciech J. Florkowski and Chandra Dhakal, a Ph.D. graduate from UGA who now works for the CDC Foundation.

A team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has created a drug-like molecule that can locate and eliminate an RNA segment tied to cancer development. The study, published in Advanced Sciences, was conducted by Dr. Raphael I. Benhamou, Elias Khaskia, and Dipak Dahatonde of the university's Faculty of Medicine. Their research centers on TERRA, an RNA molecule that helps maintain the ends of chromosomes -- the regions of DNA that support cell stability and overall health.

When TERRA functions improperly, it can disrupt normal cell aging and division. In several cancers, including certain tumors of the brain and bone, cancer cells exploit TERRA to continue growing and dividing.

"We've created a tool that acts like a guided missile for bad RNA," said Dr. Benhamou. "It can find TERRA inside cancer cells and make it disappear -- without harming healthy parts of the cell."

How the RIBOTAC Molecule Works

The researchers built a small molecule using RIBOTAC, short for Ribonuclease-Targeting Chimera. This molecule identifies a distinctive shape in TERRA called a G-quadruplex -- a folded structure -- and then recruits a natural enzyme in the cell, RNase L, to break down the RNA.

This marks the first demonstration of a tool that can destroy TERRA with such accuracy. The molecule selectively targets TERRA and does not affect other RNA molecules that share similar features.

In experiments using cancer cell lines such as HeLa and U2OS cells (which represent a hard-to-treat type of cancer), the treatment lowered TERRA levels and slowed cancer cell growth.

Potential to Reshape Future Cancer Therapies

The finding points to the possibility of developing medicines that target RNA molecules directly -- not only proteins, which are the primary focus of most current drugs.

"This is a new way of thinking about medicine," said Benhamou. "Instead of focusing only on proteins, we're now learning how to target the RNA that controls them. That could open the door to treating diseases we once thought were impossible to reach."

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