Study links air pollution to Type 2 Diabetes risk in India

A new study conducted in two major cities of India has revealed that air pollution increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The 15-year study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) included over 12,000 residents from Delhi and Chennai. The researchers found a link between PM2.5 particles and increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

“This study has opened a new pandora’s box,” said Dr V. Mohan, one of the investigators and chairman, Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.

Dr Mohan said till now we have been thinking that the higher prevalence of diabetes in urban areas is due to increased obesity, less physical activity and an unhealthy diet with more carbohydrates, fat, and calories. But now, this new study shows that there could be yet another explanation for the higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes seen in urban areas”.

“For the first time, a large study in India shows that air pollution can also precipitate type 2 diabetes in those who are predisposed to it,” he said.

(This story originally appeared in Economicstimes.com on Nov 02, 2023)

According to him, PM2.5 particulate matter can produce respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive lung disease, asthma, emphysema and probably even lung cancer. But the new revelation is that they can also act as endocrine disruptors, which means that they can disrupt the endocrine system.

“In the case of diabetes, they can lead to, number one, reduced insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cells. They can also produce insulin resistance both in the liver and in the muscle. As we know, reduced insulin secretion and increased insulin resistance are the two primary pathophysiological defects in type 2 diabetes. Now, with both getting affected due to the endocrine disruptor effect of the PM2.5 particulate matter, it is not a surprise, therefore, that type 2 diabetes is now being linked to the air pollution," he said.

Dr V Mohan said the new finding is quite worrisome, however, it is also a sign of hope, he said. "This tells us that by controlling pollution, at least to some extent, the rising diabetes epidemic in India can be slowed down or arrested".

According to the recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, the country has 101 million people living with diabetes and 136 million people are already in pre-diabetes stage.

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