Long-term exposure to air pollutant may increase risk of developing diabetes: Study

Long-term exposure to PM2.5, the fine particle matter air pollutant, may increase the risk of developing diabetes, according to a study conducted in China. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Emory University in the US evaluated the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and diabetes incidence based on data collected from over 88,000 Chinese adults.

The study, published in the journal Environment International, used satellite-based PM2.5 concentrations to assess exposure for each subject between 2004 and 2015, Xinhua news agency reported. The findings show that the general risk of diabetes incidence increased by 15.7 per cent for an increase of 10 microgrammes per cubic metre of long-term PM2.5 exposure.

The researchers found that the adverse effects of PM2.5 were larger among young-to middle-aged subjects, females, non-smokers and subjects with lower body mass index. According to the researchers, the study would benefit policy making and intervention design in diabetes prevention.

"Our future work will focus on introducing spatiotemporal data of PM2.5 at higher resolution and indoor source of exposures to further detect the health effects of long-term exposure to PM2.5," Lu Xiangfeng, one of the researchers, was quoted as saying.

(With inputs from agencies.)