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A new global study links air pollution with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes – a troubling finding especially for California's central valley, with its notoriously high levels of dangerous particles .
Air pollution has long been widely considered a health threat: the consequences include asthma and other lung problems and, in the last decade, pollution from the air increases the risk of heart and kidney disease.
The new link to type 2 diabetes is the focus of a study published by The Lancet Planetary Health, which examines the global and national impact of diabetes associated with environmental pollution. ;air. The results attribute 3.25 million newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes globally, in 2016 alone, to air pollution.
Ziyad Al-Aly, author of the study and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington in St. Louis, spoke of the impact of breathing in air pollutants.
"We tell people all the time, if you eat bad things, it affects your health," said Al-Aly. "You are what you eat, you are what you drink and, really, you are what you breathe. What you really breathe really affects your health. "
Eight of the top ten cities in the United States that rank highest for short-term pollution are in California, according to the 2018 State of the Air report of the American Lung Association. Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno, and seven of the top ten cities in the United States ranked first in particle pollution all year round are in California.
Will Barrett, Manager advocacy and clean air with the American Lung Association in California, explained that San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of California face unique challenges in efforts to reduce pollution of the environment. Challenges include emissions from agriculture and trucks crossing the valley, pollution from forest fires and extreme heat that can trap pollution for days
[196590] 17].] Previous research has been done that alluded to a link between air pollution and type 2 diabetes. And even though Al-Aly said that this research had done the same thing. Assuming a link existed, he and his colleagues were surprised by their discoveries.
"What we did not really know was the scale of the problem". "We were shocked by the magnitude."
So, what does air pollution have to do with type 2 diabetes? The association between the two is directly related to a tiny particle of air called 2.5 particulate matter, dangerous both because it is harmful and for its incredibly small size – less than 2, 5 micrometers and bare to the human eye. The particle is significantly smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
PM 2.5 particles are released into the air as a result of emissions from cars, buses and factories. Al-Aly explained that these small, harmful particles enter the body and reduce its ability to respond to insulin.
These particles are so small, he says, that unlike larger particles that get stuck in the lungs and can be expectorated, PM 2.5 particles can enter the lungs and enter the bloodstream. From the bloodstream, these particles can go anywhere in the body, resulting in serious health problems.
"When you breathe in particles, you put your health at risk," said Barrett. "It's hanging around and it's causing damage."
Dr. G. Prakasam, a local pediatric endocrinologist at Sutter Health, said that unlike type 1 diabetes, which is caused by the lack of insulin from a body, type 2 diabetes is characterized by resistance from the body to the insulin produced. The exposure to air pollutants is directly related to the decrease in insulin sensitivity, according to the evidence cited in the study.
According to the American Diabetes Association, insulin allows sugar, an important source of fuel for the body, to enter cells. "Type 2 is considered the least type of diabetes," Prakasam said. "But long-term complications are easily as bad as type 1."
The study followed 1.7 million American veterans of Veterans Affairs for a median of 8.5 years. Researchers used data from NASA's Environmental Protection and Satellite Agency to collect data on factors affecting health, social and economic conditions, and the physical environment.
. The researchers used these findings and the methodology of the global burden of morbidity, a measure to estimate the impact of a disease, to examine how diabetes is linked to the disease. Air pollution affected 194 countries and territories.
The results of the study showed that 8.2 million years of healthy life were lost due to diabetes attributable to air pollution in 2016 in the world . In addition, more than 206,000 deaths from type 2 diabetes were related to air pollution.
Countries with the highest burden of disease were China, India and the United States
children, Prakasam said that he would not be surprised to hear talk about the link between air pollution and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, because we do not know yet why people are at greater risk of developing this complication. If the study can be reproduced three or four times, he says, there is a clear link.
Earlier this year, Sacramento County received an F score from the American Lung Association for ozone levels and 24 hours. According to the Sacramento Air Quality Management District, PM 2.5 is one of the major air pollutants in the region, the other being tropospheric ozone.
Al-Aly explains that the measurements available for PM 2.5 annual average levels. The EPA reports safe levels at 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air, but the study found that levels lower than those explicitly identified by regulatory agencies may pose a risk. "The average annual PM 2.5 levels for Sacramento County as of 2016, the most recent year available, show 8.8 micrograms per cubic meter, according to kidsdata.org
." Barrett acknowledged that standards EPA's are set at a level to protect public health, but health officials recognize that smaller levels of particulates pose a health threat. "Barrett said standards should be reviewed annually and based on the best science available.
Sacramento County is ranked 19th among US cities for unhealthy air in 2018, but the region has already seen improvements in the quality of the city. Barrett explained that the county has reduced by 80% the number of days of pollution by harmful particles since 2004. This reduction is due to factors such as cleaner vehicle standards and the Local program to control wood smoke.
The study highlights the other health consequences of exposure to air pollution, including inflammation and autonomic system complications that control bodily functions unconscious such as heartbeat and breathing
"said Barrett." Our lungs were not intended to breathe polluted air. "
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