Air pollution has already caused 3.2 million new cases of diabetes, according to the study | Welfare

"Pollution has contributed to the development of 3.2 million new cases of diabetes worldwide by the year 2016, accounting for about 14%," said the authors of the Washington study Medical School in St. Louis, United States.

"We believe that pollution reduces the production of insulin and causes inflammation, preventing the body from turning blood glucose into energy," they added. The estimate of 14% is based on the medical data of 1.7 million US ex-combatants, followed for eight and a half years and chosen because they had no diabetes at the beginning of the study.

The researchers established a statistical model to see how much air pollution could explain the onset of the disease, taking into account factors that promote diabetes, such as l? obesity.

"Our research shows a significant link between air pollution and diabetes in the world," Ziyad Al-Aly, a professor of medicine, said in a statement. "It is important to note this fact because many economic lobbyists say that the limits of pollutants in the atmosphere are very low, but we have evidence that current levels have not been reduced yet. "