Air pollution is thought to cause diabetes in seven

14% of new cases of diabetes in 2016 would be due to pollution air. This is the conclusion drawn by American researchers, who published a study in The Lancet Planetary Health on June 30. These were interested in PM _{2 · 5} the most documented pollutant to date. Researchers believe, among other things, that pollution reduces the production of insulin, hence inflammation, which prevents the body from converting glucose from blood into energy.

"Levels of pollutant releases into the atmosphere should be lowered "

Researchers badyzed the medical data of 1.7 million American veterans over a median of eight and a half years. None was diabetic at the beginning of the study. The researchers observed, from a statistical model, that air pollution in the place of residence of these veterans could explain why they became diabetic. Other factors favoring diabetes have also been taken into account in their model, such as overweight and obesity.

These results are important for Prof. Ziyad Al-Aly, who participated in the study: " Many economic lobbies claim that current levels [de rejets de polluants dans l’atmosphère autorisés] are too strict and should be raised ". For him, " evidence shows that these current levels are still not healthy enough and need to be lowered ". Researchers also report that the proportion of diabetes due to polluted air is higher in countries where regulations are less stringent and less well-respected, such as India, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan and the United States. Guyana. Further evidence, in their view, is the urgent need to lower the levels of permitted pollutant releases.