New research is looking into whether city pollution could be causing a spike in insulin resistance.
Insulin resistance in the human body, is the primary cause of diabetes.
In studies conducted in Germany, children who lived near a major road had an increased risk of insulin resistance of 7%.
Air pollution in general is considered a cause of many pathologies, because pollutants cause oxidation, which can damage the body's ability to assimilate lipids and protein.
In particular the study pointed out that the pollutants Nitrogen Dioxide and fine particulates were seen to contribute to insulin resistance.
For those children who were in the upper reaches of healthy levels of body fat or higher, the effect was even greater.
The results are not definitive, in the sense that more and wider studies need to be conducted to confirm the findings.
The reason why children are more affected than their parents, in general to pollutants in the air is because they have a higher ratio of lung to body volume, and the epithelial layer is more permeable, so that the rate of absorption of the pollutants is much higher.
Source : BBC news 5.10.13
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