According to a research by John Brownstein (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts) and colleagues, increased exposure to airborne particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) may increase risk for Type 2 diabetes.
Study:
Since ambient air pollution adversely affects various aspects of human health, the researchers decided to study the influence of increasing levels of PM2.5 on risk for Type 2 Diabetes. The researchers gathered data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Environmental Protection Agency for 2004 and 2005 to assess levels of PM2.5 exposure and the county level prevalence of Diabetes.
Results:
After studying the data, the researchers realised that the prevalence of Diabetes increased with increasing PM2.5 concentrations. For instance, 1% increase in Diabetes prevalence was linked to a 10 µ/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure.
They further found that despite EPA-based guidelines for PM2.5 exposure, individuals with the highest exposure to PM2.5 had a more than 20% increased prevalence of Diabetes compared with those with the lowest exposure.
The researchers said, "Our results, although associative, demonstrate that additional research is needed to understand the role that PM2.5 plays in the inflammatory pathway or other pollution-mediated mechanisms giving rise to Diabetes. They concluded, "Such research could lead to novel therapeutic approaches to reduce pollution-induced inflammation."
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