FLICKR, THIRTEEN OF CLUBSSome environmental chemicals, such as plastics additives and certain pesticides, act as endocrine disruptors and can perturb animals’ metabolisms in the lab. Epidemiological studies have also linked human exposures to these substances with an increased risk for developing diabetes. A study published today (October 27) in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health estimates that cutting exposures by 25 percent could reduce the prevalence of diabetes by 13 percent among the elderly in Sweden.
“Extrapolating to Europe, 152,481 cases of diabetes in Europe and €4.51 billion/year in associated costs could be prevented,” the authors, led by Leonardo Trasande at New York University School of Medicine, wrote in their report.
Trasande and his colleagues used data from a study of about 1,000 elderly Swedes whose blood was sampled to estimate their exposures to certain chemicals. Specifically, the researchers looked at four so-called “diabetogens”: two phthalates (plastics additives), a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), and PFNA, a surface-coating compound.
From the data they calculated a reduction in diabetes risk if exposure to each compound dropped by 25 percent. Although their estimates found reducing exposure to any one chemical didn’t make a difference, cutting back on all four together resulted in a 13 percent ...
