It seems that anything is a risk factor for disease nowadays, and environmental pollution is one of the top culprits. While we know that diet and exercise can play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, a new Ohio State University Medical Center study has found a strong connection between the disease and air pollution. When studying mice with diabetes, every mouse that was exposed to a high fat diet, along with exposure to inhaled particulates, had marked worsening of diabetes. Tests show that air pollution can cause inflammation, increase in body fat, and disruption in insulin processing, which is a hallmark of diabetes. Although this was a mouse study, it’s interesting to note that the greatest increase in diabetes in humans are occurring in urban areas where people are more frequently exposed to air of poor quality.
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Tags: air, diabetes, environment, ohio state, particulates, pollution
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
January 21st, 2009 at 9:23 am
nice info, safe the world.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:16 am
God only knows what’s in the air you breath, i wouldn’t doubt that air pollution could contribute towards diabetes. That’s why I preach “CLEAN AIR”