Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a cohort study: effects of total and traffic-specific air pollution

Abstract

BackgroundStudies investigating the link between long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of diabetes are still scarce and results are inconsistent, possibly due to different compositions of the particle mixture. We investigate the long-term effect of traffic-specific and total particulate matter (PM) and road proximity on cumulative incidence of diabetes mellitus (mainly type 2) in a large German cohort.MethodsWe followed prospectively 3607 individuals without diabetes at baseline (2000–2003) from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study in Germany (mean follow-up time 5.1 years). Mean annual exposures to total as well as traffic-specific PM10 and PM2.5 at residence were estimated using a chemistry transport model (EURAD, 1 km2 resolution). Effect estimates for an increase of 1 μg/m3 in PM were obtained with Poisson regression adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, lifestyle factors, area-level and individual-level socio-economic status, and city.Results331 incident cases developed. Adjusted RRs for total PM10 and PM2.5 were 1.05 (95 %-CI: 1.00;1.10) and 1.03 (95 %-CI: 0.95;1.12), respectively. Markedly higher point estimates were found for local traffic-specific PM with RRs of 1.36 (95 %-CI: 0.98;1.89) for PM10 and 1.36 (95 %-CI: 0.97;1.89) for PM2.5. Individuals living closer than 100 m to a busy road had a more than 30 % higher risk (1.37;95 %-CI: 1.04;1.81) than those living further than 200 m away.ConclusionsLong-term exposure to total PM increases type two diabetes risk in the general population, as does living close to a major road. Local traffic-specific PM was related to higher risks for type two diabetes than total PM.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-015-0031-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Differential DNA methylation and PM2.5 species in a 450K epigenome-wide association study

“…53 Similarly, in humans, long-term exposure to particulate matter was linked to increased risk of type II diabetes in a large cohort study. 54 We have also reported that particulate air pollution was associated with changes in methylation in the MAPK pathway within the NAS cohort, but were unable to analyze metal components as in this study. 55 Earlier, we found that particles from oil combustion were associated with markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, and with increased blood pressure in the NAS population.…”

Long term exposure to NO 2 and diabetes incidence in the Black Women's Health Study

“…In the German study cited above (Kramer, Herder et al, 2010) and in a large Canadian study (Chen, Burnett et al, 2013), levels of particulate matter were associated with significant 16% and 11% increases, respectively, in incidence per 10 μg/m 3 increase in pollutant levels. In a second German study, levels of overall particulate matter were not associated with diabetes incidence, but there was a nonsignificant 36% increase in incidence per 1 μg/m 3 increase in traffic-specific particulate matter (Weinmayr, Hennig et al, 2015). In contrast, no significant associations between PM 2.5 and diabetes incidence were observed in the Nurse's Health Study (Puett, Hart et al, 2011), the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (Puett, Hart et al, 2011), the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (Park, Adar et al, 2015), or in the BWHS (Coogan, White et al, 2016).…”

Longitudinal Associations Between Ambient Air Pollution With Insulin Sensitivity, β-Cell Function, and Adiposity in Los Angeles Latino Children

“…Although obesity, an unhealthy diet, and reduced physical activity contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, increased ambient and traffic-related air pollution exposures also contribute to disease risk (3). Epidemiological studies among adults have shown that higher exposure to nitric oxides, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 (PM 2.5 ) was associated with greater risk for type 2 diabetes (4–9). Supporting this, clinical studies in children and adults have found that higher ambient and traffic-related air pollution were associated with higher insulin resistance using the HOMA of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (10–13).…”