According to a study, air pollution increases the risk of diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world; it is known to affect more than 430 million people and is linked to unhealthy eating habits, sedentary lifestyles and obesity.

However, recently, an investigation by Ziyad Al-Aly, an badistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington, St. Louis, suggests that air pollution plays an important role in the development of this disease.

With that, the researcher claims that while there is pressure to relax the proposed alert levels of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Organization As far as air pollution is concerned, current levels are not safe because they carry health risks.

During the investigation, microscopic particles of dust, dirt, smoke and soot were observed in the air as they entered the lungs and invaded the bloodstream. the production of health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, among others.

With regard to diabetes, the premise is that contamination reduces the production of insulin and ignites the tissues, preventing the body metabolizes glucose, so that it becomes necessary energy for the body to maintain good health conditions.

In this line, experts estimate that air pollution contributed to 3.2 million new cases of diabetes globally in 2016; that is, 14% of new diagnoses. In addition, it has been estimated that during this year, 8.2 million years of healthy living have been lost in response to diabetes-related contamination.

More specifically, the relationship between these particles and the risk of diabetes was examined. Based on data from 1.7 million US veterans with no history of diabetes who were studied for approximately 8.5 years.

This information was linked to data from air quality monitoring systems, in addition to data obtained from space satellites operated by NASA. Then they used statistical models and verified the validity of their statements from control groups

Similarly, an badysis of other research in which diabetes was linked to air pollution has was performed, based on a model was designed to badess the risk of suffering from this disease according to different levels of contamination.

According to his results, among the sample of participants exposed to contamination of a level between 5 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter On the other hand, when the contamination increases to 11.9 and 13.6 micrograms per cubic meter of air, 24% of veterans developed the disease. On this point, the author claims that although 3% may seem small, this represents an increase of 5 to 6,000 new diagnoses per 100,000 people per year

Finally, research suggests that the risk of suffering from Associated diabetes pollution is increasing in underdeveloped countries, such as India, because it lacks resources to mitigate environmental pollution, in addition to policies that promote cleaner air.

Reference: 2016 global and national burden of diabetes mellitus attributable to air pollution by PM2 · 5 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30140-2