A European study has shown that air pollution and temperature fluctuations are associated with higher blood sugar levels in people without diabetes. Scientists analyzed data from 21,259 participants from nine research groups, including 5,464 people from the Spanish project GCAT|Genomes for Life, and found that these environmental factors may affect glucose regulation even before the disease develops.
In the study, published in the journal Environment International, researchers examined the relationship between environmental exposure and levels of glycated hemoglobin HbA1c, which reflects average blood sugar over the past two to three months.
Key findings:
- 🧪 A higher concentration of PM10 particles correlates with an increase in HbA1c
- 🌡️ Higher temperature and greater temperature variability also contribute to an increase in this indicator
- 🌿 No consistent association was found between the presence of green spaces and HbA1c levels
The results point to a possible interaction of factors: the combined impact of air pollution and temperature changes may increase risks, although a direct cause-and-effect relationship with the development of diabetes could not be established. Improving air quality, according to the authors, can reduce HbA1c, while some climate changes, on the contrary, may lead to the opposite effect, with the benefits of reducing pollution being especially noticeable in warmer weather conditions.
Researchers suggest that the observed associations may be explained by:
- inflammatory processes
- insulin resistance
However, these mechanisms were not studied directly. Postdoctoral researcher Natalia Blai from GCAT noted that accounting for temperature variability is especially important in the context of climate change. The work was carried out within the European project EXPANSE led by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and the University of Basel.