Exposure to Air Pollution Increases Risk of Type-2 Diabetes: Study

Prolonged exposure to air-pollutants elevates the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, finds a study.

Intake of high sugar, trans fat and saturated fat in junk food and sweet treats is known to cause imbalance in blood glucose levels leading to diabetes. Recently, Swiss experts discovered air pollution as one of the risk factors for diabetes.

Harmful greenhouse gases like carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter released as factory and vehicular exhausts affect respiratory health and give rise to heart diseases and cancer. The current study used data of 6,392 participants aged between 29 and 73 from the Swiss Cohort study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults. It was observed people who were repeatedly exposed to PM10 particles or particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter had the highest susceptibility for diabetes, reports the Food Consumer.

The risk rate for diabetes rose by 40 percent with additional 10 micrometer cube of particulate matter in the atmosphere.  In addition, the findings also revealed high levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air were also related to prevalence of diabetes in adults. The presence of nitrogen dioxide by 10 micrometer in the air increased the vulnerability for the health condition by 17 percent.

However, the effects of particulate matter on health can be minimized by the intake of beta blockers, a class of drugs that cells in heart muscles use to prevent the stress and myocardial infractions.

"Our study adds to the evidence that long term air pollution exposure is associated with diabetes mellitus. PM10 appears to be a useful marker of the aspects of air pollution relevant for diabetes" write the authors in the study.

The research is published online in the journal Environment International.