(Kristina Sauerwein/ Futurity) — A new study links outdoor air pollution—even at levels deemed safe—to an increased risk of diabetes globally.
The findings raise the possibility that reducing pollution may lead to a drop in diabetes cases in heavily polluted countries such as India and less polluted ones such as the United States.
Diabetes, one of the fastest growing diseases, affects more than 420 million people worldwide and 30 million Americans. The main drivers include eating an unhealthy diet, having a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity, but the new findings indicate the extent to which outdoor air pollution plays a role.
“Our research shows a significant link between air pollution and diabetes globally,” says Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and senior author of the paper, which appears in The Lancet Planetary Health.
“We found an increased risk, even at low levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This is important because many industry lobbying groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened.” (…)