NEW DELHI: Exposure to polluted air is linked with an increased risk of Type-2 diabetes, said a first-of-its-kind study. The study, published in the BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care journal, found that inhaling air with high amounts of fine pollution particles (PM2.5) - 30 times thinner than a strand of hair - led to high blood sugar levels and increased Type-2 diabetes incidence. The study was conducted in Delhi, which continues to witness ‘hazardous’ air quality, and Chennai.
Exposure to fine particulate matter has been associated with several cardiovascular and cardio-metabolic diseases, the study said. The study is part of ongoing research into chronic diseases in India since 2010.It has now become one of the first studies to suggest a direct link between exposure to PM2.5 and type 2 diabetes in India, which is considered to be one of the worst countries for air pollution in the world.
The study conducted by the Centre for Chronic Disease Control, New Delhi, assessed a group of over 1,200 men and women from 2010 to 2017 and measured their blood sugar levels periodically. They also used satellite data and air pollution exposure models to determine the air pollution in the locality of each participant during that time.
The study showed that one month of exposure to PM2.5 led to increased levels of blood sugar and prolonged exposure of one year or more led to a higher risk of diabetes. It also found that for every 10 micrograms per cubic metre increase in annual average PM2.5 level in the two cities, the risk for diabetes increased by 22 per cent.
“This study provides evidence linking short-term, medium-term and long-term exposure to PM2.5, assessed from locally developed high-resolution spatiotemporal models, glycemic markers and incidence of diabetes from a highly polluted region with a high burden of diabetes,” the study said. “The findings add to the existing evidence from low-pollution scenarios in the Western population,” the authors said.