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Pollutants in food, air, water increased risk for type 2 diabetes
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Recent studies have addressed the link between environmental factors and the development of endocrine-related disorders, including diabetes. In the current study, researchers in Spain investigated persistent organic pollutants and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in adults from southern Spain and found that a link exists.
They looked at specific persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as organochlorine pesticides, which are often used in agriculture and public health as pest control agents, and polychlorinated biphenyls used in industrial and commercial applications.
“The mechanism of action by which POPs increase the risk of diabetes is still unknown. However, some researchers have suggested that POPs might cause an immunological response when they penetrate estrogen receptors in tissues associated with the metabolism of sugars,” study researcher Juan P. Arrebola, PhD, of the University of Granada in Spain, said in a press release.
Arrebola and colleagues collected samples of adipose tissue and serum from 386 patients undergoing surgery. Using high-resolution gas chromatography with a mass spectrometry detector in tandem mode, they analyzed residues of POPs in each patient. Researchers used the total effective xenoestrogen burden (TEXB) biomarker to measure overall estrogenicity of the patients’ adipose tissue.
After adjustments for adipose tissue origin, sex, age and BMI, the second tertile (OR=3.6; 95% CI, 0.8-17.3) and third tertile (OR=4.4; 95% CI, 1-21) of adipose tissue concentrations of p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) demonstrated a positive link to the risk for diabetes, according to data.
Furthermore, an association between beta-hexachlorocyclohexane was also discovered when researchers removed BMI and adipose tissue origin from models for the second tertile (OR=3.3; 95% CI, 1-10.4) and third tertile of exposure (OR=5.5; 95% CI, 1.7-17.3), they wrote.
Of the 386 patients included in the study, 34 (8.8%) were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Further research is needed to determine the mechanism of POP toxicity, they wrote.
Disclosure: Arrebola reports being under contract with the PTA-MICINN program (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation).
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