An international study conducted in China revealed that long-term exposure to the major air pollutant PM2.5 increases the risk of diabetes. The risk of the disease increased by about 15.7 percent for an increase of 10 micrograms per cubic metre of long-term concentration of the pollutant, claimed the study which was conducted over a decade in China.
Hindustan Times reported that the study stated, “The adverse effects of PM2.5 were larger among young-to- middle-aged subjects, females, non-smokers and subjects with lower body mass index.”
Commenting on the link between pollution and diabetes the official news agency, Xinhua said in a report, “Diabetes causes substantial economic and health burdens worldwide. However, the association between air pollution and diabetes incidence is rarely reported in the developing countries, especially in China which has a relatively high PM2.5 concentration”.
The research published in the journal Environment International, a peer-reviewed science journal on the environment found that PM2.5 was an important risk factor for diabetes incidence in China.
The data was collected from more than 88,000 Chinese adults by the experts from the Fuwai hospital in Beijing under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and US’s Emory University. The research evaluated the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and diabetes incidence.