The air quality we breathe is closely linked to our health and our life expectancy.Various diseases have their origin in the pollutants present in the atmosphere, mainly in urban areas, as various scientific studies have indicated in recent years.
New research in this field now shows that people exposed to air pollution, even at levels considered safe, have a significantly higher risk of diabetes.The results of this study led by United States experts have been published in the specialized magazine The Lancet Planetary Health (June 29).
Specifically, the authors of this research establish a statistical relationship between exposure to PM-2,5 contamination (particles in suspension of less than 2.5 microns) and cases of diabetes registered worldwide in 2016.
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in recent decades;with more than 420 million people affected worldwide.In addition to genetic factors, the main factors associated with the appearance of diabetes are food, sedentary lifestyle and obesity.
In addition, according to the results that are now published, it seems to be demonstrated that there is “a significant link between air pollution and diabetes worldwide,” said Ziyad al-Aly, lead author of the study and assistant professor of Medicine at the universityfrom Washington.“We find a higher risk, even at low levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).This is important because many industry pressure groups argue that current levels are too strict and should soften.The evidence shows that current levels are not yet safe enough and should be adjusted. ”
While the growing evidence has suggested a link between air pollution and diabetes, researchers have not tried to quantify that load so far."In the last two decades, there have been research on diabetes and pollution," Al-Aly said."We wanted to join the pieces for a broader and more solid understanding."
To evaluate outer air pollution, researchers analyzed particles, microscopic particles of dust in the air, dirt, smoke, soot and drops of liquid.Previous studies have found that such particles can enter the lungs and invade the bloodstream, which contributes to the main health conditions, such as heart disease, cerebral spills, cancer and kidney diseases.In diabetes, pollution is believed to reduce insulin production and trigger inflammation, which prevents the body from turning blood glucose into energy that the body needs to maintain health.
The authors of the new study estimate that pollution contributed to 3.2 million new cases of diabetes worldwide in 2016, which represents approximately 14 percent of all new cases of diabetes worldwide that year.They also estimated that 8.2 million years of healthy life were lost in 2016 due to diabetes related to pollution, which represents approximately 14 percent of all years of healthy life lost due to diabetes for any cause.(The measure of how many years of healthy life is often lost as "years of life adjusted for disability").
The University of Washington team, in collaboration with scientists from the Center for Clinical Epidemiology of Veterans Affairs, examined the relationship between particulate material and the risk of diabetes first analyzing the firstdata of 1.7 million veterans from the United States. UU. who were followed during a median of 8.5 years.The veterans had no history of diabetes.
The researchers linked the data of the patients with the EPA air monitoring terrestrial systems, as well as with the space satellites operated by NASA.They used several statistical models and proved validity against controls such as sodium concentrations in ambient air, which are not related to diabetes, and lower limb fractures, which are not related to external air pollution, as well as the risk ofDevelop diabetes, which exhibited a strong link with air pollution.
The authors reviewed all diabetes related research and external air pollution and designed a model to evaluate the risk of diabetes at various levels of pollution.
Finally, they analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease study, which is carried out annually with contributions from researchers around the world.The data helped estimate annual cases of diabetes and healthy years of lost life due to pollution.
The researchers also discovered that the general risk of diabetes related to pollution is more inclined towards low -income countries such as India, which lack resources for environmental mitigation systems and clean air policies.For example, countries affected by poverty that face a greater risk of diabetes pollution include Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Guyana, while the richest countries such as France, Finland and Iceland experience less risk.
Reference scientific article:
The 2016 Global and National Burden of Diabetes Mellitus Attributable to PM2 · 5 Air Pollution
Benjamin Bowe, Yan Xie, Tingting Li, Yan Yan, Hong Xian, Ziyad al-Aly.DOI: Link
