2 ms·

And the article mentions diabetes...which also damages the microvascularization though not to the same extent. That claim isn’t backed by empirical evidence.

• gumby 3y ago
  I guess I wasn't clear: 1 - Paper mentioned smoking and diabetes (the latter surprised me, though I hadn't thought of your example which is a good one). 2 - smoking increases CO to bloodstream, and nicotine. The latter stiffens the vascular system; the CO doesn't just damage it but is believed to damage the small muscles of the skin, leading to the pervasive and fine grained wrinkling. 3 - Acute diabetes also damages the microvasculature (stiffining and blocking) which leads to various problems like PAD; that diminished circulation makes the immune system less efficacious, so for example people get difficult to heal lesions and such that can lead to amputation. My point in that regard was "huh, I can imagine that you could see signs of diabetes for similar reasons", though TBH by the time an ulcer shows up you probably have noticed other signs. But perhaps there are earlier traces for the non observant. I wasn't claiming that diabetics and smokers would have the same external symptoms. I'm a diabetic nonsmoker myself, and largely wrinkle-free :-)