Air Pollution is to be blamed for 3.2 million new Diabetes cases in a year

Type 2 Diabetes or also formerly known as non-insulin dependent diabetes is a condition in which insulin produced by the body is not sufficient to meet its demands. Sedentary lifestyle and genetic factors, such as obesity and unhealthy eating practices ought to be the leading causes of Type 2 Diabetes.

However, a new study conducted has revealed that the air pollution, even below the level of what is considered safe, caused 3.2 million (one in seven) new cases of diabetes every year worldwide in 2016.

The study published in the Lancet Planetary Health has found an unquestionable link between air pollution and diabetes. It said that the air pollution resulted in 1,50,000 new diabetes cases annually in the United States.

The data was gathered by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 1.7 million US veterans and examined who did not have any history of diabetes and were followed for around 8 and a half years.

“There’s an undeniable relationship between diabetes and air pollution levels well below the current safe standards,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the senior author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University.

He further stated that “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.”

The matter of concern is that as per the World Health Organization (WHO) report, 14 of the world’s most polluted cities are in India and that’s what makes Indians more susceptible to encounter a higher risk of diabetes. Diabetes expert Dr. Anoop Misra of Fortis says that Indians comparatively are more vulnerable to inflammation than in the West and when it’s combined with the air pollutants, the risk becomes much higher.