Possible Air Pollution, Diabetes Link Reported

New York researchers have observed a dramatic statistical correlation between air pollution levels and the prevalence of diabetes, but the significance of the observations has yet to be determined.

Dr. Alan Lockwood and his colleagues at the University of Buffalo compared the Toxic Release Inventory, which documents emissions into the air, with diabetes levels in each state.

They reported in the August issue of Diabetes Care that states with the highest emissions had the highest prevalence of the disease. Ohio, for example, had very high levels of emissions (147 million pounds) and a high prevalence of diabetes (7.5% of the population). Conversely, states with low emissions had a low prevalence. Alaska, which had 2.6 million pounds of emissions, had a prevalence rate of 4.4%. More research is necessary to explore the link, Lockwood said.